The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a final rule last week regarding long-running efforts to integrate mortgage-disclosure documents. The new “Know Before You Owe” forms will be required beginning Aug. 1, 2015. Lenders will be required to give potential borrowers a loan-estimate form within three business days after receiving a complete loan application. The form replaces the early Truth in Lending Act statement and the Good Faith Estimate required by the ... [Includes three briefs]

Commercial banks and savings institutions reached a record level of investment in non-mortgage ABS during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. Banks and thrifts held a combined $173.12 billion of non-mortgage ABS as of the end of September, up 4.4 percent from the previous quarter. The industry’s aggregate ABS portfolio was up 6.9 percent from the third quarter of last year. Banks and thrifts pushed...[Includes one data chart]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering an industry request to delay the implementation of a proposal requiring FHA lenders to perform a financial assessment of all prospective borrowers of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans. In remarks during the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association’s recent annual meeting in New Orleans, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said HUD is still studying the comments and will need more time to implement the rule. In September, the FHA published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on the financial assessment proposal. The proposal is currently in ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are designing a securitization framework that will work for today’s fully-guaranteed residential MBS as well as securities with a partial government guaranty or none at all, according to an update released this week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Among the initiatives set for the government-sponsored enterprises by the FHFA is the development of a contractual and disclosure framework designed to give MBS investors more clarity and confidence about what they’re…

The jumbo market accounted for 16.7 percent of total mortgage originations during the third quarter of 2013 and was much stronger than other sectors.

“Watt will not lower the ceiling for 2014,” said one mortgage insurance executive. “Maybe, he will change them at some point but, not next year.”

The civil action entails the alleged taking from WJB of some 5,000 loan files. It should be noted that these aren’t just any LOs – the group in question ranks among the top producers in the nation.

Some 33 mortgage lenders contributed loans to the new jumbo MBS led by Guaranteed Rate with a 9.3 percent share.

Nancy Handal, managing director of insurance conglomerate MetLife, oversees a $70 billion fixed-income portfolio and a $6 billion “high-yield” residential MBS opportunity fund – but has bought into just one jumbo MBS deal over the past few years. And she’s not shy about the reasons why: it’s all about disclosures. Handal is not happy about what non-agency issuers disclose and in particular she’s dismayed that MBS investors are essentially frozen out of the due-diligence process. Speaking at a housing forum sponsored by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic this week, the MetLife executive expressed...

Lobbyists and analysts who track the market are unanimous on one key issue: GSE loan limits. From what we’re told, Watt will shelve any thought of lowering the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage limit in 2014.