Now that the hurrahs and uproar over FHA’s reduced annual premiums have died down, analysts are having mixed views regarding its short- and long-term effects on private mortgage insurers. Some analysts predict FHA’s 50 basis-point reduction of the annual mortgage insurance premium charged on 30-year forward loans should have a modest impact on private MI business. The cut should benefit the lower FICO brackets – borrowers with credit scores of 679 and lower – a segment in which private MIs write little business, they suggest. “We believe...

Although JPM reduced the asset value of its mortgage servicing portfolio in 4Q, Wells marked up its MSRs.

The positive performance, a drop of 14.5 percent, is most likely due to the continued recovery in the overall economy as well as the housing market.

Meanwhile, JPM marked down the asset value of its residential servicing portfolio to $7.436 billion at Dec. 31, 2014, a 10 percent reduction from 3Q14.

The Council of Federal Home Loan Banks said the FHFA has shown “no compelling need” for the proposed changes to membership standards.

The two top banks increased their HEL holdings from midyear, and industry analysts expect home-equity lending to continue to increase in 2015.

The CFPB’s fourth annual human capital report touted the progress the bureau has made in bolstering its human resources capabilities. But it had nothing to say about the controversy over allegations of discrimination and retaliation towards some of its own staff that emerged last year and lead to congressional hearings and a last-minute scramble to adjust the paychecks of select personnel. The closest the bureau got to that issue was a brief mention of requiring a two-day employment civil rights training session for all managers and supervisors, as part of broader effort at leadership development and succession planning. The CFPB also briefly discussed the efforts it is making to attract and retain a diverse workforce. The bureau’s report indicated that ...

The risk of illegal, improper or erroneous use in the CFPB’s purchase card program is low and the risk level for the agency’s travel card program is medium, according to a recent assessment by the bureau’s Office of Inspector General. “As a result, we will include an audit of the travel card program in the OIG’s 2015 annual audit plan, and we will not include an audit of the purchase card program in that plan,” said the OIG in a new report. “Nevertheless, the Office of Procurement and the Travel Office should continue to take appropriate actions to ensure proper oversight of their respective programs.” The OIG conducted the risk assessment of the programs to determine the frequency and scope ...

S&P believes the gap in execution between whole-loan sales and securitization has started to narrow.

There was one piece of good news: Freddie Mac managed to boost its share of the GSE market up to 40.6 percent for all of 2014.