Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set aside a combined $1.9 billion to cover potential losses to MBS collateral from the powerful hurricanes that slammed the U.S. and its territories this fall. Ginnie Mae, meanwhile, hasn’t issued an update on affected loans in several weeks, but the government guarantor is trying to stay optimistic.
Real estate mortgage investment trusts continued to build up their agency MBS investment port-folios during the third quarter, though most REITs had a more difficult time in the less-liquid non-agency MBS market.
Three analysts at Wells Fargo Securities discussed in a new report this week what could happen to the agency MBS market as a result of pending tax reform, one version of which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this week. As always, the devil is in the details; hence, the bitter in-fighting among entrenched interests on Capitol Hill.
The Ginnie Mae/Veterans Affairs task force is meeting regularly to find a solution to the VA churning problem that is triggering rapid prepayments to the detriment of MBS investors – and a test currently used by the FHA might provide the answer.
So-called peer-to-peer loans “resemble predatory loans in terms of the segment of the consumer market they serve and their impact on consumers’ finances,” according to a study published last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The warning comes as issuance of ABS and MBS from marketplace lenders continues to grow, with growing acceptance from rating services and investors.
Credit Suisse and MBIA Insurance Corp. continued their wrangling in New York state appellate court in a $235 million MBS securities lawsuit brought by the bond guarantor in 2009.
Fannie Mae is considering a pilot program to help consumers more easily get construction loans. While the program is just in the early stages of consideration, the government-sponsored enterprise sees the program as a way to increase affordable housing options for homebuyers.
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