A Ginnie Mae/VA anti-churning task force is looking at a number of options to solve the rapid prepayment problem, which could include extending the seasoning requirement for all refinanced loans and prohibiting access to custom pools. A Ginnie representative declined to provide further details, adding that the task force is not ready to announce changes yet. “But we will take additional action soon, which we can do through program changes like we did last year,” he said. Ginnie issued guidance last year to curb aggressive refinancing of VA loans that underlie Ginnie mortgage-backed securities. The rapid refis have resulted in rapid prepayments to the detriment of investors with no clear benefits to VA borrowers. The guidance required six consecutive monthly payments before delivering a streamlined refi loan into a standard Ginnie MBS. The measure succeeded in stopping the ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs have taken additional steps to provide relief to homeowners in disaster areas hit by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. This week, the FHA issued policy waivers in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico and fire-stricken counties in California, allowing damage inspections to be completed beginning Oct. 24. FHA currently requires servicers to perform a damage inspection following the close of an “incident period” as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. An incident period is the period For mortgages in disaster areas that have not closed or are pending endorsement, lenders must follow FHA’s guidelines on inspection and repair escrow requirements for loans in such areas. FHA believes that situations in certain jurisdictions in Puerto Rico and California have stabilized and further damage to ...

One dealmaker, requesting anonymity, added: “Why not just sell servicing on eBay? There are reasons the market for servicing is wired as it is.”

Look for any principles on GSE reform to avoid specificity so as not to box-in legislation being drafted in Congress…

Homebuilder finance is booming at Flagstar Bancorp...

MBA chief Dave Stevens: “What happens if the president nominates a new [FHFA] director who thinks the government role in mortgage finance is too large and wants to scale it back?"

In the third quarter, Movement Mortgage was the top seller of MSR assets via the coissuance market…

The GSEs are also working toward issuing credit-risk transfer deals as real estate mortgage investment conduits, which would allow REITs to hold more of the assets.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Guggenheim Securities were the top underwriters of business ABS at the three-quarter mark of 2017…

BRAWL chief Tony Casa said if loan brokers want to send a message to firms that operate in both wholesale and retail, brokers should take their business elsewhere.