The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking to prevent GSE shareholder and director of Investors Unite, Tim Pagliara, from inspecting the corporate records of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Pagliara filed a lawsuit in state courts in March hoping to gain access, as an individual stockholder, to the GSEs’ records to determine the circumstances surrounding the sweep. Fannie, incorporated in Delaware, and Freddie, incorporated in Virginia, both denied his request to review the records earlier this year. Pagliara then argued that his rights as a shareholder were denied for “no legitimate basis.” This week, the FHFA filed a motion to substitute itself for Pagliara and remove...

FHFA Publishes Update to Proposed Duty To Serve Rule: This week the Federal Housing Finance Agency provided an update to its proposed duty to serve rule in the form of summaries of roundtable meetings it held with various groups in April and May, On April 19 and May 2, FHFA said it met with rural housing market stakeholders. On April 20, it met with consumer groups, civil rights groups, affordable housing advocates and energy efficiency stakeholders, on April 25, FHFA met with financial service stakeholders, and on April 26, FHFA met with members of the manufactured housing industry.

Ginnie Mae edged past Freddie Mac in servicing outstanding on single-family mortgages tied to mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter of 2016, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. MBS disclosure reports show the supply of Ginnie mortgage servicing rights grew 2.1 percent during the second quarter, climbing to $1.576 trillion, excluding multifamily and reverse mortgage MBS. The supply of Freddie single-family servicing edged up just 0.4 percent from March, reaching $1.558 trillion and slipping to third in the agency MSR market. Fannie Mae single-family MSR servicing declined...[Includes two data tables]

While some banks have reduced their FHA lending in recent years and alternatives from the government-sponsored enterprises are still gaining traction, homebuyers still have access to low-downpayment mortgage programs, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. “Most real estate agents say high loan-to-value ratio mortgages are readily available, especially for homebuyers with good credit,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. The HousingPulse survey covering activity in June included...

The FHA this week clarified its policy on insuring mortgages with PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) senior tax liens to make it easier for borrowers to obtain FHA financing for such mortgages, but the mortgage and real estate industries continue to have concerns. The new guidelines address state programs where the PACE obligation is treated like a property tax with priority over an FHA lien. The program provides financing for home-energy improvements and water conservation, and is repaid through an assessment added to the property’s tax bill. The guidelines are designed...

Fanie Mae made changes to its HomeReady program and Freddie Mac adjusted its Home Possible program.

“[The GSEs’] corrupt business model lets shareholders and executives reap huge profits while the taxpayers cover all losses,” according to the Republican platform.

Some 5.0 percent of MGIC’s new insurance written in the second quarter of 2016 was for mortgages with loan-to-value ratios above 95 percent.

While FHA forward mortgages continued to be the biggest source of collateral, the VA program actually produced a bigger gain, 42.4 percent, from the first to the second quarter.