Barring the discovery of a skeleton in his closet, Julian Castro’s nomination for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development appears to be a lock in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Appearing before the committee this week, Castro, a three-term mayor of San Antonio, TX, laid out his priorities for HUD if confirmed. He said he would emphasize working closely with agencies as well as the value of “measuring results” by setting precise goals, public consultation, development of a public report card and annual updates – tools he employed in his municipal housing education and affordable housing initiatives in San Antonio. Castro said...

However, two of the largest home-equity lenders – Bank of America and Chase – both reported modest increases in production during the first quarter, up 3.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

As one jumbo participant put it: “More is good.” Redwood Trust also is working on a deal, industry officials said.

Although the Wells Fargo-Ocwen MSR transfer is still on hold, other institutions continue to trim their mortgage servicing portfolios.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued $44.8 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities during the month of May, a slight 1.3 percent dip from April, but it reversed the brief rebound following a year-long streak of declines, according to an Inside The GSEs analysis. However, May’s MBS issuance was down a much steeper 62.4 percent from the same period a year ago. Top-ranked Wells Fargo’s Fannie and Freddie securitization, at $5.97 billion, dropped by 4.9 percent on a monthly basis and by 73.6 percent year-to-date.

After months of anticipation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency last week issued an official call for public comment, particularly from the mortgage industry, on how Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s conservator should calculate both guaranty fees and loan-level price adjustments. The FHFA’s “request for input” specifically seeks guidance regarding the optimum level of g-fees and their implications for mortgage credit availability, but the agency does not provide any specific proposals as some had expected. One of the first things that FHFA Director Mel Watt did when he assumed office in January was delay implementation of a planned GSE g-fee increase set into motion by his predecessor, Acting Director Edward DeMarco.

Cantor Loss Unlikely to Advance Hensarling, PATH Act Opportunity? House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat this week by his GOP primary Tea Party challenger Dave Brat is already shaking up the House leadership with implications for key lawmakers affecting the GSE reform debate.Cantor, R-VA, will close out his term at the end of this year but has announced he will give up his post as House majority leader effective July 31. Republican leadership could hold elections to replace Cantor as early as next week. Cantor has endorsed Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, to succeed him as majority leader.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-NY, last week reintroduced legislation that would “sharply curtail” the ability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to invest in future transactions that reduce the availability of affordable housing both in New York and nationwide. Maloney’s legislation, the Responsible GSE Affordable Housing Investment Act of 2014, initially introduced in 2010, would require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to deny affordable housing goals credits when a project’s debt is disproportionate to its income.

A new analysis by the Urban Institute released last week found that GSE denial rates for weaker credit profile applicants, including many minority applicants, were much higher than denial rates for all applicants. The UI’s analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data found at least 16 percent of applicants were denied Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans for purchase of an owner-occupied property in 2012. However, when compared to CoreLogic’s data, the UI also found the denial rate for low credit GSE applicants was at least 54 percent.

A noted GSE hawk successfully pushed through a legislative amendment that would block Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from paying into the National Housing Trust Fund “at a time when they still owe money to the American people.” The amendment by Rep. Ed Royce, R-CA, to H.R. 4745, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2015, would prohibit the GSEs from using funds for the NHTF, which was established under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.