Commercial banks posted a solid 7.3 percent increase in their holdings of MBS over the second half of 2010, emerging as the top investor class in the market, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. Commercial banks held...[Includes one data chart]

The leading financial institutions that provide mortgage loans eligible to be sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to gradually tighten their underwriting and incrementally increase the quality of their business in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the latest data from the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. As refinance mortgages became...[Includes one data chart]

Securitization remained the dominant method of financing new residential mortgages during 2010 despite the fact that the non-agency MBS market remains in shambles. Some 84.9 percent of the $1.570 trillion of home loans originated last year were pooled...[Includes one data chart]

Federal ReserveLO Compensation Webinar. The Fed will host a webinar on March 17 to answer questions and provide an update on the controversial loan officer compensation rule, which takes effect April 1. Securities and Exchange Commission Mortgage Firm, Top Executive Charged...

Wells Fargo will stop offering reverse mortgages through its wholesale and broker channels after next week, becoming the latest large FHA lender to reconfigure its business in that sector. Bank of America announced in early February that it will stop originating reverse mortgages as the company plans to focus on its “core” business. Wells and BofA were...[Includes one data chart]

House Financial Services CommitteeBills to Shut Down Ineffective Foreclosure Programs. Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-AL, announced a subcommittee hearing and a full committee markup of four bills that will eliminate...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchases of distressed loans from mortgage-backed securities nearly offset the run-off of the GSEs’ retained MBS holdings in 2010, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Fannie and Freddie held...[Includes one data chart]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac processed a surge in mortgage-backed securities issuance during the fourth quarter of 2010, but current indicators suggest the production boom is already fading. The two GSEs issued $331.5 billion in single-family MBS during the final three months of the year, a 32.6 percent increase over the third quarter. It was...[Includes one data chart]