When House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, first introduced the second version of his Financial CHOICE Act, he acknowledged the comprehensive regulatory relief package might not make it through the Senate in one piece. He said he had a “short game” and a “long game,” suggesting he was open to small, incremental change while still pushing forward with more comprehensive change over the long haul. Last week, the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee executed a little of that “short game” strategy, holding a hearing to consider a handful of legislative proposals to foster a more efficient federal financial regulatory regime, including two mortgage-related bills. The potentially more significant bill is...

Members of Congress wasted no time getting to work on the CFPB when they returned to the nation’s capital last week after the Labor Day holiday. A subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to consider a few legislative proposals to foster a more efficient federal financial regulatory regime, including a soon-to-be introduced TRID Improvement Act. Slated to be introduced by Rep. French Hill, R-AR, the TRID Improvement Act of 2017 would amend the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act to expand the period in which a creditor is allowed to cure a good-faith violation on a loan estimate or closing disclosure from 60 to 210 days after consummation. The bill also ...

The Independent Community Bankers of America issued a statement midweek questioning – nine years after the fact – the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying it was the government’s way of putting the two mortgage giants in a “time out.” ICBA said the move by the Bush administration on Sept. 6, 2008, was made to “help calm the fears of global investors of GSE mortgage-backed securities.” MBS issued by Fannie and Freddie have an “implicit” government guarantee, not an explicit one. However, before and since the takeover, the GSEs have never missed a bond payment to MBS investors. ICBA said, “After being put into conservatorship – an action that has since been proven to be...

The International Monetary Fund proposed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac merge into a single enterprise. The IMF discussed ideas that it said could help stabilize the mortgage finance system in a working paper published late last month. The global Washington, DC-based organization said the GSEs should combine forces “as quickly as possible.” And, “Until this happens they should be forbidden to compete for business on the basis of price.” “The GSE regulator should be tasked with monitoring the enterprises to ensure consistency on this basis,” said the author of the paper, Richard Koss. He believes that the housing finance system is unnecessarily complicated, with Fannie and Freddie having selling guides of 1,408 and 2,303 pages, respectively.

GSE Conservatorship Hits Nine Year Mark. It’s been nine years since the government placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in conservatorship on Sept. 6, 2008. No one knew it would last this long. Industry groups, along with some lawmakers, are working hard to put the wheels in motion to come up with a more sustainable solution for the mortgage giants. GSE shareholders group Investors Unite suggested, “If Fannie and Freddie could start retaining their profits and rebuild adequate reserves, the Trump administration could lock in reforms already in place and implement others, creating a federal role in housing finance that protects taxpayers.” GSE Hearing Postponed

Although the National Credit Union Administration and a top CU trade group favor allowing credit unions to buy mortgage servicing rights in the secondary market, don’t look for these “nonprofit” depositories to become significant players anytime soon. At least that’s the opinion of a handful of investment bankers and others who ply their trade in the MSR market. For starters, CUs are not...

The FHA has posted a quick-reference sheet on its website to help lenders navigate the agency’s new Loan Review System. The quick-reference sheet summarizes the most important information in the LRS user manual. The LRS is an electronic platform for single-family, quality-control processes that includes post-endorsement loan reviews, direct endorsement authority test cases, lender-monitoring reviews, and lender-self-reporting of fraud and other material findings. Defect taxonomy, a key LRS component, provides a streamlined method of identifying and capturing information about loan defects uncovered through individual loan reviews. Lenders have four opportunities to respond to FHA reviews. They may access the LRS to view the results of the review in detail but they may not edit or submit responses, upload documents, manage binder requests or create self-reports. When FHA requests a ...

Ginnie Mae Spokesperson Leaves Agency. Cynthia Adcock, director of communications and congressional relations at Ginnie Mae, will no longer be with the agency effective Sept. 4, 2017. Adcock will assume similar duties and responsibilities as a director with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Michael Huff will handle media inquiries related to Ginnie Mae and congressional matters. FHA Lenders Settle Alleged Violations of FCA, FHA Requirements. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General recently announced receipt of $44.3 million from separate settlements with two FHA lenders. The settlements resolve allegations of fraudulent claims and violation of FHA requirements against Financial Freedom of Austin, TX, and Prospect Mortgage of Sherman, Oaks, CA. On May 16, 2017, Financial Freedom, an FHA servicer, agreed to pay the ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General recently released a white paper highlighting the GSEs’ pre-conservatorship statutory capital requirements and their current shortfalls.With the 2008 conservatorship, capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were suspended so the paper mostly emphasizes the lack of capital for housing-finance and GSE reform debate purposes. “Because of heightened public interest in the role of the enterprise, if any, in the future structure of the housing finance system, FHFA-OIG prepared this white paper to explain the current statutory and regulatory capital requirements for the enterprises,” it explained.

Whether increased competition in the government mortgage-backed securities market would benefit the industry as a whole continues to be a bone of contention in the housing market. While some believe any talk of GSE reform should include ending the duopoly of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by adding more guarantors to the mix, small lenders in particular say they already have their hands full keeping up with requirements for the two GSEs.