PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust plans to issue its first non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security in the third quarter of 2013 by combining $393.0 million of non-agency jumbos it recently acquired in a bulk transaction with mortgages from its correspondent lenders. The real estate investment trust said it acquired $107.0 million in non-agency jumbos via its conduit in the second quarter, along with $8.0 million in the first three months of 2013. “Jumbo originations have been affected by the ...
The question of whether the FHA should allow the refinancing of underwater mortgages seized through eminent domain has reemerged as a key issue following a recent decision by the city of Richmond, CA, to use its authority to take over distressed mortgages for restructuring. There is a new twist to the question, however. Could FHA’s refusal to refinance such mortgages be deemed discriminatory against cities and homeowners if eminent domain programs meet the requirements of the FHA Short Refinance program? Is that tantamount to redlining? A top executive of Mortgage Resolution Partners, which developed the eminent domain strategy to help underwater homeowners at risk of foreclosure, said ...
The mortgage banking industry has commended the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on passing the FHA Solvency Act earlier this month but raised concerns about the bill’s indemnification provision. In a letter to Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Minority Member Mike Crapo, R-ID, David Stevens, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said some deserving borrowers are being shut out of FHA because of strict credit overlays that lenders add to avoid indemnification risks. Stevens said when the Department of Housing and Urban Development is able to require ...
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.
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