The VA home loan program was up 23.5 percent in the first six months of 2013, although activity slowed by 1.5 percent from the first quarter, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of VA data. The VA reported $74.4 billion in purchase and refinanced loans during the first six months, with refis accounting for 52.9 percent of total volume. The program’s share of the overall mortgage insurance market fell to 22.2 percent in the second quarter from 24.3 percent in the previous quarter. Combining their year-to-date results, the FHA and VA reported a combined ... [1 chart]

Ginnie Mae has changed certain office names to reflect the activities and responsibilities of the office more accurately. For example, the Office of Mortgage-Backed Securities is now known as the Office of Issuer and Portfolio Management. The Office of Program Operations name also has been discarded in favor of the Office of Securities Operations. The MBS Guide, including the summary of addresses and all forms and appendices, has been updated to reflect the office name changes. In addition, the address for overnight delivery of new MBS issuer applications ...

After the dust-up in the capital markets from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee over when the central bank will begin to “taper” its huge asset purchase program, this week’s meeting of the FOMC provided no new clues about the timing of the Fed’s exit strategy. “To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the committee decided to continue purchasing additional agency MBS at a pace of $40 billion per month and longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion per month,” the FOMC said, reiterating previous announcements. Also, the FOMC is...[Includes one data chart]

Industry analysts predict that Freddie Mac’s recently announced deal to shed some of the credit risk of the mortgages it guarantees to the private sector could provide the template for a broader risk-sharing program for both GSEs and opens the door for potentially promising policy implications. The $500 million offering of Structured Agency Credit Risk securities, which Freddie priced last week, aims to diminish taxpayer risk while introducing more private capital into the market. Due to investor demand, the size of the offering was increased from $400 million to $500 million, and about 50 broadly-diversified investors participated in the offering, including mutual funds, hedge funds, REITs, pension funds, banks, insurance companies and credit unions, according to Freddie CEO Donald Layton.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced last week it has reached a settlement with UBS Americas for nearly $900 million to cover claims of alleged violations of federal and state securities laws regarding non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the terms of the agreement, the Swiss bank will pay some $885 million divided roughly in half between the two GSEs. UBS will pay Fannie approximately $415 million and $470 million to Freddie to settle claims related to residential MBS offerings between 2004 and 2007. “The satisfactory resolution of this matter provides greater clarity and certainty in the marketplace and is in line with our responsibility for preserving and conserving Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s assets on behalf of taxpayers,” said FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco.

Preliminary combined net income for the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks jumped 25.9 percent to $730 million in the second quarter of 2013, up from $580 million in the first quarter, according to the Federal Home Loan Bank Office of Finance. The FHLBanks’ net income for the six months ended June 30, 2013, was $1.310 billion, a 1.9 percent increase compared to the same period in 2012. “These increases were driven primarily by improvements in non-interest income and reductions in non-interest expense, partially offset by lower net-interest income,” noted the Office of Finance.

Mortgage lenders saw a noticeable decline in refinancing of underwater Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages during the second quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of mortgage-backed securities data. Overall refinance volume at the two government-sponsored enterprises declined by 13.6 percent from the first quarter of 2013 to the second, although refi activity continued to make up a huge 75.8 percent of GSE business. Deliveries of Home Affordable Refinance Program ... [Includes two data charts]

Mortgage lenders and servicers are dealing with increased regulatory scrutiny, compressed margins and a competitive origination environment. As interest rates continue to rise, firms are finding that many of the loans they currently service may no longer qualify as suitable refinance candidates. Additionally, as property values stabilize, a growing number of borrowers may become easy targets for other lenders. To address these issues, Rumson, NJ-based Loan Value Group has developed a package of ...

Ocwen Financial Solutions Private Limited, a vendor based in India, received high marks from Morningstar Credit Ratings. OFS is a subsidiary of Ocwen Financial that handles servicing for more than 50 clients. Morningstar said the vendor’s metrics meet or exceed industry standards for customer relationship management, homeownership retention and delinquency management. “Ocwen India, with its multiple servicing platforms, extensive and ...

Mortgage delinquencies increased by nearly 10 percent in June compared with the previous month, following five months of declines, according to Lender Processing Services. The increase is seen as a seasonal move, with delinquencies expected to continue to decline over the long-term. LPS last week estimated that the total delinquency rate, loans 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure, was 6.68 percent as of the end of June, up from 6.08 percent in May. Foreclosures also increased ...