To paraphrase Mark Twain: Rumors of HARP’s death have been greatly exaggerated. At least that’s the finding of a recent report by structured finance analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch who looked the impact similar programs will have on the GSEs’ credit-risk transfer programs.

The uniform MBS is scheduled to launch in just over three months, but there is still some confusion about how it will affect investors in the to-be-announced market. Earlier this month, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Investment Company Institute, in a joint letter, urged the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department to clarify certain diversification requirements under the single security initiative.

The Federal Home Loans Banks’ combined net income for the fourth quarter fell to $791 million, an 8.7% decline from the fourth quarter of 2017. Year-over-year, net income rose slightly to $3.56 billion in 2018. But this apparent stability masked dramatic swings elsewhere on the income statement. [Includes one data chart.]

Fannie Mae last week announced that it would begin marketing its 10th sale of reperforming loans. Citigroup Global Markets will handle the marketing.

A working paper released by the National Association of Realtors at a conference in Washington, DC, this month makes a persuasive case that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be restructured as strictly regulated, shareholder-owned utilities. Perhaps more important, the paper establishes an effective format for evaluating other proposals for GSE reform.

Despite a slow fourth quarter, 2018 turned out to be the most profitable year since 2013 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And, although only a fraction of the size of the GSEs’ single-family business, multifamily remained a bright spot. [Includes one data chart.]

Mel Watt violated ethics rules as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency by attempting to “coerce” a senior manager into a relationship by suggesting he could help her in getting an executive post, according to a just-released report from the agency’s inspector general.

In his testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs last week, Mark Calabria, President Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, reinforced expectations that, as director, he would begin the long-awaited recapitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

California-based Sabal Capital Partners, one of the earliest partners in Freddie Mac’s Small Balance Loan Program, broke a record this month when it sold the enterprise a portfolio of 39 small-balance loans worth $189 million. All the underlying properties are in East Harlem.

Fannie Mae stepped up its efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing, announcing earlier this week that it was increasing the loan limit for multifamily small mortgage loans from $3 million to $6 million.