The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s diversity record at senior-level positions has improved, but remains far more wanting among mid-level management positions, according to a report by the agency’s Office of the Inspector General. An OIG analysis of FHFA data showed that the percentage of minorities and women in senior positions at the agency increased from 2011 to 2013. In addition, promotions of minorities at the senior level also increased over the same period. The report further found that the share of women at mid-level positions also rose during the same timeframe. However, the percentage of minorities in these positions remained unchanged, it noted. The OIG conducted a review of diversity and related workplace issues within the FHFA from March through ...

Three pools of seriously delinquent mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of $410 million will be auctioned off by Freddie Mac. The delinquent pools, with unpaid principal balances of $160 million, $141 million and $109 million, will be offered through Mission Capital Advisors, the broker in the deal, according to a Bloomberg report. Competitive bidding will end on Feb. 4. A large chunk of the loans are two years past due, the report noted. Freddie spokesman Tom Fitzgerald declined to provide further details, saying information at this stage of the deal is provided solely to prospective bidders. He said details on the results will be provided after auction. The transaction is the second of such sales for Freddie in ...

Titan Capital Solutions has branched out from its jumbo correspondent investor niche into the scratch-and-dent market to take advantage of new business opportunities arising from repurchase demands and loans that aren’t qualified mortgages. The Denver-based correspondent investor has begun purchasing loans rejected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and private investors due to information, document and compliance errors. Historically, “scratch-and-dent” ...

With interest rates at exceptionally low levels in recent years, borrowers have been reluctant to choose adjustable-rate mortgages. For those opting for ARMs, hybrids remain the most popular, according to results from the annual ARM survey recently released by Freddie Mac. ARMs accounted for 4.6 percent of the $921.72 billion in mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae in 2014 ... [Includes one data chart]

The top five lenders in the industry accounted for 33.8 percent of total production last year, down from a combined 40.8 percent market share back in 2013.

The government-sponsored enterprises’ new low downpayment programs received a vigorous defense from Melvin Watt, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, at a hearing this week by the House Financial Services Committee. Republicans on the committee attacked the programs from a number of angles, including raising concerns about default rates on mortgages with lower downpayments and fears of a “race to the bottom” with the FHA. “If you carefully look at other considerations and take them into account in deciding whether to back that credit, you can ensure...

Demand for VA products is being sparked by declining interest rates and the fact that these government-backed loans do not require any downpayments.

It’s unclear what exactly will be addressed in these new standards, though capital requirements for nonbank servicers is said to be a key part of it.

ABS issuance was up 12.0 percent from the prior year, with solid gains in three of the market’s key sectors: auto finance, credit cards and business loans.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposal to prohibit captive insurers from joining the Federal Home Loan Bank system included generalizations and inaccuracies, and it overstepped rulemaking boundaries, according to real estate investment trusts. The FHFA issued a proposed rule in September that would prohibit captive insurance companies from joining the FHLBank system. At least seven REITs have used captive insurers to gain access to ...