Nonbank mortgage servicers are bracing for an onslaught of new capital recommendations from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, which could see the light of day in early 2015. But the industry did receive one piece of good news: although the CSBS is working on what it calls “options for prudential standards,” the organization will not be addressing capital for nonbank originators, a CSBS official told Inside Mortgage Finance. The group is...

Industry groups say they are generally pleased with last week’s more detailed update to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s representation-and-warranty framework, but lenders remain expectant of additional details from the Federal Housing Finance Agency going forward. The new rules, retroactive to January 2013, provide that lenders might not be required to repurchase loans that contain data inaccuracies or misrepresentations of buyers’ qualifications, unless those inaccuracies and misrepresentations are “significant” or appear in multiple loans. The clarifications of life-of-loan exclusions announced by the government-sponsored enterprises are designed...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week said that conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2015 would remain at current levels in most markets. Some 46 counties will get...

The development of a common securitization platform for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the progression of a single government-sponsored enterprise security remains an “important priority” for the Federal Housing Finance Agency over the next year, according to the FHFA. The GSE conservator noted in its “2014 Performance and Accountability Report” and the FHFA’s revised “Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2015-2019,” both issued last week, that the project is proceeding with deliberate speed. “Most of the software needed for the platform’s core functionality has been put...

In the wake of the Federal Reserve’s announced end to its multi-part quantitative easing program, look for private investors to face a number of challenges when it comes to increasing their share of the MBS market, concluded a white paper by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA paper, issued late last week, noted there is no single player waiting in the wings able to pick up the slack when the Fed relinquishes its role as the dominant purchaser of agency MBS. “Many of the potential private investors face...

Fewer than 100 financial institutions could be adversely affected by a proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency rule to tweak membership criteria for the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks, the agency’s head told the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee last week. In his first oversight hearing appearance since assuming office in January, FHFA Director Mel Watt said the agency’s “preliminary review” has found of the 7,500 FHLBank member institutions less than 100 may potentially be negatively impacted.

The Obama administration noted this week that it is less than keen on the idea of taking up an outgoing Democrat senator’s call to end the six-plus year conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Last week, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, suggested the GSEs’ conservatorship be ended if legislative reform is not forthcoming.

As the Federal Housing Finance Agency prepares a new guaranty fee framework to unveil in early 2015, a report issued by the FHFA last week noted that big g-fee increases in 2013 were not spread evenly across the market. According to the FHFA’s sixth annual study, average mortgage-backed security g-fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jumped from 36 basis points in 2012 to 51 bps last year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week unveiled a policy alteration that would potentially allow a foreclosed homeowner to purchase a home – including one he/she lost due to arrears – from the real estate owned inventory of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The change will permit Fannie and Freddie to sell existing REO properties to any qualified purchaser at the property’s fair-market value, as determined by the GSE, according to the FHFA.

A sharp drop in net income from servicing operations during the third quarter was the key factor in a decline in overall mortgage-banking profitability for a group of major lenders, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. The 11 publicly traded companies, which include most of the top originators and servicers in the industry, reported a combined $1.25 billion in net income from servicing, including the gains or losses from hedging their mortgage servicing rights. That was down 43.8 percent from the second quarter and was the lowest net income from servicing for the group since the third quarter of last year.Two of the companies reported increased servicing revenue. At Huntington Bank, net servicing income nearly tripled ...