The Treasury Department last week released a report that called for regulatory reforms aimed to help boost non-agency originations and market share. Many of the reforms relating to the non-agency market could be completed without action from Congress. However, most of them are overseen by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Treasury’s recommendations appear unlikely to be enacted as long as Richard Cordray is director of the CFPB. Treasury sought input ...
One of the most significant variables industry participants are working to address in terms of introducing a deal agent into non-agency mortgage-backed securities is the fee structure. Issuers are trying to balance paying for the services provided by a deal agent without diverting too much cash flow from investors in non-agency MBS. The fee structure will also play a key role in how rating services treat MBS that have a deal agent, with issuers looking for favorable treatment ...
Representations and warranties on new nonprime mortgage-backed securities often include weaknesses that limit their ability to protect investors against fraudulent or defective loans, according to an analysis by Moody’s Investors Service. However, the rating service said current practices and dynamics in the nonprime MBS market help to mitigate the risks from weak reps and warranties. Moody’s hasn’t placed ratings on nonprime MBS backed by ... [Includes four briefs]
Reps. Randy Hultgren, R-IL, and Gwen Moore, D-WI, want to restore Federal Home Loan Bank membership for captive insurance lenders that joined the system prior to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s rulemaking that restricted membership of firms that would otherwise be ineligible. H.R. 289, the Housing Opportunity Mortgage Expansion (HOME) Act, would allow FHLBank members that were booted from the system to rejoin it, as well as the retention of those whose departure is pending, if they can demonstrate a commitment to residential mortgage activities. Most of the affected companies are real estate investment trusts. The sponsors explained...
Weeks after the Trump administration banned the practice, the Senate Judiciary Committee is looking into whether the Obama administration used mortgage-related settlement funds to funnel money to political organizations that Congress deliberately defunded. In a recent letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, revived a standing request to the Department of Justice for a list of all settlement agreements reached during the previous administration that involved alleged payments to partisan community organizations. He gave the agency until June 28 to respond to his request. Specifically, Grassley asked...