Originators are constantly looking over their shoulders because loans are being re-underwritten two or three times, once by the aggregator, once by the GSEs...
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee this week met Wall Street’s expectations that it will continue to plow principal payments from its holdings of agency MBS back into agency MBS until sometime after the central bank decides to raise its federal funds target range. “The timing will depend on how economic and financial conditions and the economic outlook evolve,” said the FOMC after its two-day meeting concluded Wednesday afternoon. In the meantime, the Fed’s tapering of its quantitative easing program will continue...
Hundreds of community banks, credit unions and community development financial intuitions within the Federal Home Loan Bank system will be adversely impacted and even face expulsion from the FHLBanks if a proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency rule change goes into effect, say rule opponents. The FHFA’s proposal, issued earlier this month, would change the FHLBank membership qualifications by imposing an ongoing asset test on FHLB members, requiring that they track and report on the mortgage-related assets they hold on their books.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not ready for the new representation and warranty framework that took effect early last year at the insistence of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to a new Inspector General audit. Announced in September 2012 and implemented Jan. 1, 2013, the framework relieved sellers from certain reps and warrants, including those relating to credit underwriting and eligibility of the borrower and the property that were formerly effective for the life of the loan.
A tremendous amount of uncertainty is causing mortgage lenders to be more restrictive with credit than they otherwise might be – mostly stemming from conflicts with investors, increased regulation and the ambiguity from major legal settlements. “Lenders are running scared,” said Paulina McGrath, president of Republic State Mortgage, during a conference sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center this week in Washington, DC. “It’s not just the regulation that’s causing a dramatic increase in ...