Reverse mortgages would be included in Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports under a proposed rule published recently by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The proposed rule would expand the definition of a “covered loan” under HMDA to include reverse mortgages and home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs), which include reverse mortgages structured as open-end HELOCs. Currently, HMDA regulations do not require reporting of HELOCs, although lenders may do so if they choose. Currently, financial institutions only have to report information on a closed-end reverse mortgage if the transaction involves a home purchase, home improvement or refinancing. Among other things, the CFPB has proposed to require that all reverse mortgages and HELOCs be identified by loan type to distinguish them from other categories of ...

Private mortgage insurance companies continued their roll during the second quarter of 2014, capturing a larger share of the primary MI market away from the faltering FHA program, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. Private MIs reported a total of $44.19 billion of new primary mortgage insurance written during the second quarter, a 38.0 percent jump in new business from the first three months of 2014. Private MIs accounted for 41.4 percent of total primary MI new business, the industry’s highest share of the market since the second quarter of 2008, when the housing market landslide was gaining speed. The Veterans Administration’s home loan guaranty program is also building...[Includes three data charts]

Nonbank mortgage companies reported mixed results in the second quarter of 2014, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. A group of seven publicly traded nonbank lenders more than doubled their income compared with the first quarter, mostly because of an outsized gain at Nationstar Mortgage and lower losses at PHH Mortgage. Midway through the year, the group’s mortgage banking income was down 64.7 percent from ... [Includes one data chart]

Lender profit margins appear set to stop declining, according to a new survey by Fannie Mae of senior executives at 181 institutions. Industry participants suggest that increased demand from borrowers along with operational efficiencies will help steady profit margins. Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie, said the significant decline in volume in recent quarters put pressure on profit margins. “That would be expected to ease somewhat ...

The first-time homebuyer share of purchase-money mortgages differs a great deal across the states, and house price growth may have something to do with it, according to a new study by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHFA researchers looked at first-time buyer activity from 1996 to 2013 and how it is affected by nationwide house-price trends. They found a symbiotic relationship that may or may not be beneficial to first-time homebuyers, depending on ...

An overwhelming majority of prospective homebuyers believe purchasing a home is a good investment decision, but many of them “haven’t done the math” and feel overwhelmed by the amount of information that have to contend with, according to a new Discover Home Loans/Versta Research poll. Five years after the Great Recession, most participants generally had positive views and expectations about their upcoming participation in the housing and mortgage markets ...

In keeping with its strategy to reduce its holdings of less-liquid assets, Freddie Mac announced last week the GSE’s first sale of what it calls “deeply” delinquent loans. It remains to be seen if the sale of the $659 million package of distressed single-family mortgages from its portfolio is a one-off or the first of more to come. Asked whether more non-performing loan auctions might be ahead, a company spokesman declined to comment.

A federal judge in Manhattan last week ordered Bank of America to pay a $1.27 billion penalty for losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Countrywide Financial’s “Hustle” program for pumping dubious Alt A loans to the GSEs. The bank also is reportedly nearing a settlement with the Justice Department over other charges. Last October, the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission successfully proved in court that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost some $850 million from thousands of loans acquired through Countrywide’s “high-speed swim lane” program – known as HSSL or “Hustle.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported a combined $5.0 billion in net income during the second quarter of 2014, down 46.2 percent from the first three months of the year. Compared to the first half of 2013, GSE profits were down nearly 82 percent, though both companies posted strong earnings during the three-month period ending June 30, 2014. Both GSEs are coming off a banner 2013 when each company’s earnings were super-charged by several one-time items – including the capture of each company’s deferred tax allowance, and numerous non-agency lawsuit settlements.

While banks have plenty of capacity to retain jumbo mortgages in portfolio, the top two contributors to jumbo mortgage-backed securities issued in the second quarter of 2014 were actually banks, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. First Republic Bank and JPMorgan Chase were the top two contributors to the scant four jumbo MBS during the quarter. And since the start of 2013, three of the top five ... [Includes one data chart]