Increases to guaranty fees charged by the government-sponsored enterprises along with cross-subsidization policies could prompt bank lenders to shift more of their originations from the GSEs to portfolio. According to a report released last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charged an average g-fee of 60 basis points for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in 2014, up from 55 basis points the previous year and ...

Underwriting standards for jumbo mortgages tightened for the second consecutive month in June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s credit availability index for jumbos was slightly below the post-crisis peak set in April. The government-sponsored enterprises and Common Securitization Solutions announced this week that eight organizations will be included in an advisory group regarding the common securitization platform ... [Includes three briefs]

Ginnie Mae issuance of government-insured mortgage-backed securities rose a whopping 47.3 percent in the second quarter of 2015 from the previous quarter, powered by a robust FHA refinancing volume, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. Government-backed Ginnie MBS production in the second quarter totaled $117.5 billion, up from $79.8 billion in the prior quarter. Volume year-to-date also increased by 57.7 percent from the first six months of last year. From May to June, government-backed securitization increased a modest 2.9 percent. FHA loans comprised 62.6 percent of Ginnie MBS issuance in the second quarter while VA accounted for 33.7 percent. Securitized loans with a Rural Housing Service guaranty represented 3.6 percent of total Ginnie MBS issuance during the period. FHA loan securitization was robust in the second quarter, as volume ... [ Charts ]

The worst news: Prime jumbo MBS issuance fell 32.5 percent from the first quarter to the second.

It was the biggest quarter in GSE private MI activity since the third quarter of 2013...

The jobs that seem to be the least in demand include technology support (4 percent) and secondary marketing positions.

We’re told a sale contract could be signed any day now, but as far as a public announcement is concerned, it may not happen right away…

Private mortgage insurance volume was up sharply in the second quarter, based on a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities data. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $52.59 billion of single-family loans with private MI coverage during the period. That was up 21.5 percent from the first quarter, and it lifted year-to-date volume 42.4 percent above the level during the first six months of last year. It was...[Includes two data tables]

The nation’s subservicers increased their contracts to a record high $1.350 trillion at March 31 as tougher regulations continued to play a key role in the shifting of processing chores away from depositories to nonbanks. On a sequential basis, contracts increased by 7.1 percent in the first quarter and 14.4 percent compared to March 31, 2014, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking. Only four banks – Flagstar, Cenlar, Wells Fargo and Bank of America – were among the top 20 subservicers. Overall, at March 31, subservicers were...[Includes one data table]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 65,960 foreclosure-prevention actions during the first quarter of 2015, a slight increase from the previous period, according to a recently released report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Of that number, there was a 1.0 percent uptick in the number of loan modifications in the first quarter. The number of completed repayment and forbearance plans rose somewhat faster, by 7.2 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. The FHFA said...[Includes one data table]