Officials from the Federal Housing Finance Agency as well as the government-sponsored enterprises will give an update on the common securitization platform project at an upcoming technology show – but don’t expect a “beta” test, at least not yet. Over the past two weeks, Inside MBS & ABS had been hearing reports that a private “demo” of the CSP was in the works – and might possibly happen at a technology show later this month in Orlando, sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association. FHFA principal strategist Michael Aneiro is scheduled...

The catch was that the so-called GSE "patch" would only last as long as Fannie and Freddie remained in conservatorship...

Mortgage lenders repurchased or paid losses on $710.1 million of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans during the fourth quarter of 2014, a 30.8 percent increase from the previous period, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports. While increased buybacks are never a good thing for lenders, the fourth-quarter total was the second-lowest repurchase amount disclosed by the two government-sponsored enterprises ... [Includes two data charts]

If a borrower went shopping for a mortgage loan in 2014, he or she would have found FHA insurance costlier than private mortgage insurance even with a 20 percent downpayment, according to a new report from WalletHub, a web-based organization that monitors a variety of financial services. FHA mortgage insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2008, when conventional loans with private MI grew scarce and FHA became the only game in town for ...

For the first time since the GSEs were put in government conservatorship over six years ago, the flow of new mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accounted for less than half of primary-market production. [Includes one chart.]

Although the Federal Housing Finance Agency has tripled the targets for GSE risk transfers in 2015, Treasury officials say the program needs to evolve further and offered a number of new strategies to consider.

Ocwen Financial’s goal to eventually unload $140.5 billion of mortgage servicing rights tied to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loans is being aided by bifurcation agreements approved by the GSEs and their regulator, according to advisors familiar with the deals.

After four decades in its storied Wisconsin Avenue building, Fannie Mae plans to return to its much earlier roots by making downtown Washington, DC, its new corporate headquarters. The company selected the current site of The Washington Post, on 1150 15th Street, NW, as its future home in January, debunking speculations of a move to other parts of the city.

Freddie Mac saw an unusual jump in mortgage-backed securities issuance in February thanks to a huge delivery of seasoned loans from Bank of America. Freddie single-family MBS production rose 30.8 percent from January’s level to $29.91 billion, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis of loan-level data. It was the highest monthly issuance level for Freddie since August 2013. [Includes one chart.]

While most of the 18 financial institutions sued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2011 have settled allegations of securities law violations, underwriting flaws and fraud related to non-agency mortgage-based securities, one bank, Nomura Holding America Inc., plans to take the case all the way to trial.