During the third quarter, total Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicing related to single-family mortgage-backed securities nudged slightly higher, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis and ranking.The two GSEs had a combined $4.5 trillion in single-family MBS outstanding at the end of September. That was up 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, but down 0.4 percent from a year ago. Total GSE single-family servicing is somewhat higher because both Fannie and Freddie have retained portfolios of unsecuritized mortgages. Fannie MBS servicing was actually down 0.2 percent during the third quarter and off 2.3 percent from September 2015. Freddie servicing was up 1.6 percent for the quarter and up...

This week, Fannie Mae launched an initiative that guarantees to alleviate buyback fears on certain loan components for lenders using its underwriting and appraisal tools. Fannie will also automate key processes of verifying loans, including income, through Desktop Underwriter’s new validation service.Under Day 1 Certainty, Fannie said lenders would be relieved from most representations-and-warranty risk related to verifying a borrower’s income, assets and employment using DU. “Those are the big ones,” a Fannie spokesman told Inside The GSEs. He said, “It validates right there and they are good to go,” adding that this is the kind of innovation that helps makes possible programs like Quicken’s Rocket Mortgage.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must approve the change of control of Genworth Mortgage Insurance, whose parent company is slated for sale to Asia Pacific Global Capital Co., a Chinese limited liability corporation. The approval, noted one GSE official, is pursuant to the Private Mortgage Insurance Eligibility Requirements, which were sanctioned by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. If Genworth wants to remain an approved MI, the two GSEs have to approve the transaction. Industry observers who keep a close eye on the GSEs believe the sale approval process could be lengthy given the fact that Genworth’s new parent is a Chinese company. The purchase by Asia Pacific was unveiled earlier this week.

Lenders will be able to use technology to verify a borrower’s income, assets and credit worthiness in 2017 in Freddie Mac’s Loan Advisor Suite. The announcement was made this week on the heels of Fannie Mae announcing changes to its Desktop Underwriter. With the cost of originating a mortgage more than doubling since pre-crisis times, the GSE said the enhancements were designed to help lenders validate the quality of the loans they originate and help keep costs at a minimum. David Lowman, Freddie’s executive vice president of single-family business, said, “We’re collaborating with lenders to create innovative tools that reduce the costs of producing and selling high-quality loans to us.”

The secondary market in transfers of agency mortgage servicing rights gained some momentum during the third quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis and ranking. A total of $94.96 billion of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MSR connected to newly issued mortgage-backed securities changed hands during the third quarter. That was up 9.4 percent from the second quarter and represented the heaviest volume since ... [Includes two data charts]

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt said access to credit and supporting underserved markets will be among the goals outlined for the GSEs next year. Although the FHFA will not release a 2017 GSE scorecard until yearend, Watt, speaking at this week’s annual Mortgage Bankers Association convention in Boston, offered a preview of what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will focus on in the coming year. Watt said he expects the GSEs to ramp up research efforts to increase responsible access to credit and affordable housing. He said the average credit scores for GSE purchase loans remain historically high. “Based on the work they have already done and this additional research, we’ll be asking them to...

The Congressional Budget Office said allowing the GSEs to retain a portion of their earnings could help stabilize the mortgage market and the federal budget.In a recent report studying the effects of recapitalizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the CBO concluded that while it may limit competition in the market, the benefits outweigh any potential concerns. With GSE capital levels scheduled to be depleted by 2018, there have been several legislative proposals over the past year advocating a recap. The CBO published a report in response to the proposals but put a different spin on it. The CBO created an “illustrative policy option” in which Fannie and Freddie would retain an average of $5 billion of their profits annually.

The GSEs said treating items like payoffs, holdbacks and principal curtailments as closing costs in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s disclosures would just confuse borrowers. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac submitted comments to the CFPB last week in response to the bureau’s proposed amendments to the integrated disclosure requirements under the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The comments focused primarily on aspects of the proposed rule that may potentially affect the Uniform Closing Dataset developed by the GSEs. The GSEs disagreed with the proposed rule’s plan to lump non-closing cost fees under...

The Cato Institute recently filed an amicus brief challenging the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s denial of compensation benefits to a former Freddie Mac CFO at the start of the conservatorship. The FHFA terminated Anthony Piszel two weeks after the government took over the GSEs in September 2008. The primary issue was whether a government prohibition on making golden parachute (severance) payments to terminated Freddie employees was illegal or not. Piszel appealed a judgment from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims dismissing his complaint that Freddie breached its contract and owed him payment for his golden parachute compensation.

Housing Finance Agency’s proposal to loosen regulation of new business activities by the Federal Home Loan Banks generally showed support for the changes but recommended further exclusions from the definition of “new business activities.” The comment period ended on Oct. 24 and the FHLBanks commended the FHFA for its “thoughtful proposal.” Nevertheless, it noted that it would still like to see the agency adopt proposed enhancements to the new business activity regulation. Back in 2013, the FHLBanks wrote the FHFA about their concerns with the burden of existing regulations. The FHLBanks said that the broad scope of the rule requires them to spend a large amount of time and effort determining whether a proposed activity is...