When rates take a noticeable dive – as they have the past few weeks – mortgage lenders contemplating a sale sometimes have a change of heart, opting to ride the new production wave. But this time around, that doesn’t appear to be the case. “Most every lender I speak to understands this to be a very temporary event prior to a relatively cold and uncertain winter,” said M&A advisor Rick Roque of Menlo Company. Over the past two months, Inside Mortgage Finance has found 10 publicly announced M&A transactions with several more likely signed that weren’t disclosed. Roque, who’s working on several deals, said...
Late this week, Ocwen Financial Corp. announced that it has set aside $100 million for a possible regulatory settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services, a move that couldn’t come too soon for the troubled “high-touch” servicer. But the company also cautioned that a settlement with the NYDFS is hardly a sure thing. More-over, some Ocwen watchers believe a deal with New York could spur other state regulators to take action against the company. One consultant who has done work for Ocwen told...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Obama administration could secure their legacies during the next two years by releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship as two stable and smaller government-sponsored enterprises, say some experts. Speaking during a conference call sponsored by GSE shareholder rights group Investors Unite, Clifford Rossi – founder and principal at Chesapeake Risk Advisors – reiterated his call for an administrative solution that would recapitalize the GSEs and bring them out of conservatorship under strict conditions. “Knowing that it’s going to be an uphill battle to get any sort of resolution from Congress, it could be...
Former FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco wanted to shrink the multifamily programs of Fannie and Freddie, but that initiative has been placed on the back burner.
The Federal Reserve’s decision late last year to taper its agency MBS purchases appears to have contributed to higher mortgage rates, which in turn has helped lead to “significant reductions” in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranty fee revenue on MBS issued so far this year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Inspector General. The evaluation report issued by the IG late this week concluded that continued tapering by the Fed and the eventual reduction of its massive MBS portfolio could have an “adverse impact” upon the financial performance of the two government-sponsored enterprises. “Although the Federal Reserve’s [quantitative easing] programs benefitted the enterprises’ financial condition in 2012 and 2013, its decision, among other factors, in late 2013 to taper its MBS purchases contributed...
Ginnie Mae this week provided new details to the long-anticipated plan for increased issuer net worth and liquidity and a new performance scoring method for issuer activity – changes that could adversely affect small issuers and portfolio servicers. In remarks at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer said the changes are part of a larger effort to ensure the continuing flexibility and availability of the agency’s mortgage-backed securities program to as many entities as possible. New types of issuers and counterparties have entered the agency-backed MBS market in the wake of the financial crisis, which called for adjustments and tailored approaches to the evolving housing finance market, Tozer noted. Tozer said both policy changes and staff expertise will ensure the success of ...
While the FHA’s share of the primary insurance market has dropped significantly since premiums were hiked in early 2013, the VA program and the rural housing loan program run by the Department of Agriculture are going strong, according to agency officials. During a panel discussion at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention this week, VA and Rural Development executives said that both agencies have been quietly building mortgage market share. Jeffrey London, deputy director of the VA’s loan guaranty service, reported that purchase-mortgage VA loan originations were up 11 percent in fiscal 2014, with 40 percent of the business being first-time homebuyers. Of that group, 80 percent took no-downpayment VA loans, the biggest selling point in the program, along with its relatively low costs. In earlier remarks, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro revealed that ...
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