The Federal Housing Finance Agency is drawing flak after asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs to submit executive compensation analyses that could significantly boost pay for top management at the government-sponsored enterprises. The FHFA capped Fannie and Freddie CEO salaries at $600,000 in 2012, but FHFA Director Mel Watt wants to change that. In its first-quarter earnings statement, Freddie revealed that the regulator asked the GSEs’ boards to review CEO compensation. Rep. Ed Royce, R-CA, doesn’t...
Since late February, Ocwen Financial has struck four different deals to sell $89.4 billion in Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac servicing rights. Although buyer interest in the high-quality receivables was strong, getting those transactions past the Federal Housing Finance Agency has been a different matter. Industry advisors note that in general Fannie and Freddie promise their seller/servicers they will approve MSR transfers within 60 days unless there’s a problem. Last summer, the approval time was increased from 30 days, a change that did not receive much publicity. The FHFA, on the other hand, offers...
Underwriting standards, not a lack of income or significant student loan debt, have held back originations of mortgages to first-time homebuyers in recent years, according to industry analysts. As lenders gradually loosen their underwriting standards, originations of mortgages for first-time homebuyers are expected to increase in the coming years. In a recent brief, analysts at Capital Economics stressed that there doesn’t appear to have been a fundamental shift in homeownership aspirations, even though housing is currently slightly over-valued compared with renting. “There is...
Realtors want Congress to tackle reform of the government-sponsored enterprises, but they are keenly aware of the huge difficulties facing the effort, according to participants at this week’s annual legislative conference held by the National Association of Realtors. “I think what we want to get through to people in Congress is that these [GSE] programs were designed to be around and to be effective in times of a recession and prosperity in every single section of the country. That’s what they were there to do,” said Jerry Giovaniello, NAR’s senior vice president of government affairs. He said...
Watt said GSE pay should be brought more in line with comparable private sector jobs, but no higher than what CEOs in the 25th percentile of the market make, which is roughly $7.26 million a year.
The eight nonbanks – including the top publicly traded firms that rank high in originations, servicing or both – posted a combined $40.5 million in mortgage-banking income during the first quarter.
Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie all posted solid gains in volume during April, but Ginnie had the strongest increase with issuance rising more than 32 percent…
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