Guaranty-fee income increased in 2015 at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac despite the fact that average g-fees on new business acquisitions were down slightly. The two government-sponsored enterprises reported a combined $17.33 billion in net income for all of last year, a 20.9 percent drop from 2014. However, g-fee income at the two GSEs was up 8.2 percent from 2014 to 2015, and continued to account for a growing share of their income as their investment portfolios shrank. G-fee income did not climb...

Mortgage originators selling loans into MBS last week likely were hit with “pair-off” fees from secondary-market investors who were expecting delivery of higher-yielding mortgages, a proposition complicated by the sudden downdraft in rates. As one secondary market executive noted: “A forward sale into an MBS is not a perfect hedge. Then again, nothing is a perfect hedge.” Originators that fund billions of dollars each quarter use...

The proposed fiscal year 2017 Ginnie Mae staff budget will meet current operational needs, but staffing for the long term will have to be reevaluated, according to GNMA President Ted Tozer. Tozer said the proposed agency budget of $23 million for personnel costs, “along with leveraging contractors and carefully prioritizing hires,” will meet the agency’s current needs. However, officials will take a hard look at its staffing requirements “from a long-term, strategic point of view,” he noted. Tozer was reportedly disappointed...

Commercial banks and savings institutions reported an unexpectedly strong $4.515 billion in mortgage-banking income during the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends ranking and analysis of call report data. The industry’s fourth-quarter results represented a solid 18.8 percent increase over the previous quarter, and it brought full-year mortgage-banking income to $18.474 billion – an 11.8 percent gain over 2014 ... [Includes one data chart]

Competition for originations by brokers is set to intensify as PennyMac Financial Services is preparing to enter the wholesale channel. Company officials said the nonbank is aiming to have a “leadership role” in terms of volume among wholesale lenders. “The wholesale channel currently comprises approximately 10 percent of the total mortgage market, and we believe there is a significant opportunity in this channel for a company like PennyMac Financial, with the strong ...

Utilizing a sophisticated analytical capability to assess end-to-end profitability of products, channels and operating units and better manage the economics and risks of the portfolio can provide a powerful boost to mortgage servicing operations – and some of the most intelligently run organizations are already reaping the rewards of doing so, according to a recent white paper by PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Today, many companies rely on general ledger reporting and ...

More than 100 members of Congress expressed serious concern over a Department of Labor proposal to revise the existing overtime rule for white-collar employees, fearing it would adversely impact employers, including those in the mortgage industry. A joint bipartisan letter to DOL Secretary Thomas Perez signed by 108 House members said expanding overtime protections to help more workers, as proposed by the DOL, would end up hurting them and ...

Borrower demand for jumbo mortgages declined somewhat in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, and banks plan on loosening underwriting standards for the loans, according to the Federal Reserve’s senior loan officer opinion survey. Industry participants stress that underwriting standards for jumbos remain strong, with poor performance unlikely. Senior LOs were asked to evaluate demand for purchase mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2015 ...

The FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is projected to generate $9.1 billion in profits in FY 2017 but officials say they will not be reducing mortgage insurance premiums any time soon. Released this week, the White House’s proposed budget projects FHA will insure $204 billion in new forward, single-family mortgages with a negative credit subsidy of 4.42 percent for each loan, resulting in a projected profit of $9.1 billion. In fiscal 2016, the program is expected to generate $7.7 billion in profits. Separately, for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, the proposed budget is projecting $18.5 billion in new reverse mortgage loans with a negative credit rate of 0.33 percent, netting $61 million in profits. During a budget briefing, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said there are no plans to change the current mortgage insurance premium. “We want to ensure our ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors have recommended policy changes the VA Home Loan Guaranty program could adopt to make it work better for veteran borrowers. The two industry groups offered their recommendations during a hearing before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on the VA program. Testifying on behalf of the MBA, James Danis, president of Residential Mortgage Corp., urged the VA to issue a clear, final qualified mortgage rule for VA lending. The agency has had an interim final rule on QM and ability to repay in place since May 9, 2014, when it was published in the Federal Register. The VA recently issued guidance for lenders to better understand the standards but gave no indication as to when a final rule will be released. Danis recommended that the final rule provide an ample implementation period to ...