Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to test parts of a common securitization platform under development by year-end, according to an official at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA separately announced this week what it deemed to be “significant steps” for the government-sponsored enterprises’ planned CSP. A year-and-a-half after the federal regulator announced the project, the platform remains a nebulous goal that GSE officials hope to make exceedingly encompassing and flexible. Speaking this week at the ABS East conference in Miami sponsored by Information Management Network, Wanda de Leo, deputy director of the FHFA’s office of strategic initiatives, said...

Among other things, the Federal Home Loan Banks want to maintain their ability to securitize residential mortgages for their members.

While standardization was the focus of jumbo investors, perhaps the bigger concern for participants is that most investors said they were looking to buy almost anything other than new jumbo MBS.

The auction is being held on the government’s behalf by DebtX. In total, 29,000 nonperforming loans will be offered for sale.

Meanwhile, smaller mortgage lenders that do not have delegated underwriting authority are reporting delays on getting loans closed.

The CMC letter follows one sent last night by 15 housing and mortgage-related trade groups to Acting FHFA Director Edward DeMarco, asking him not to lower the GSE loan limit, while questioning the legality of such a change.

ABA will send FHFA its own letter on GSE loan limits. Meanwhile, CFPB finds two mortgage bankers over RESPA violations.

Peters Sack of Credit Suisse said the bank portfolio bid is currently much stronger than the economics for issuing jumbo MBS.

As usual, the Federal Housing Finance Agency provided as little detail as possible in its new disclosures on the common securitization platform.

The Supreme Court's decision sends the defendant banks back to federal district court where they will be able to appeal at a later date should an adverse ruling directly affect them.