A lack of overwhelming support in the Senate for legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises has shifted the housing finance policy debate from reform to preservation. If Congress fails to act, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is set to drive mortgage policy for years to come. Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, initially delayed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs’ recent markup of S. 1217, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act, in an effort to increase support for the GSE reform bill. But they failed to gain favor with a number of liberal members of the committee, and the bill ultimately passed on a 13-9 vote seen as dooming prospects for comprehensive action on GSE reform in Congress. Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, were...

The high cost of FHA loans, due mainly to higher MI premiums and a requirement to maintain mortgage insurance for the life of the loan, has made it difficult for borrowers to obtain credit.

Legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises moved forward in the Senate last week, but industry analysts suggest that complete action by Congress to reform the housing finance system is unlikely until 2017 at the earliest. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs approved S. 1217, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act, on a 13-9 vote. The bill pushed by the committee’s leaders, Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and ...

After years of losses from holdings of nonprime mortgages, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported significant income relating to subprime mortgages and Alt A loans in the first quarter of 2014. The income was largely tied to settlements of lawsuits filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency against non-agency mortgage-backed security issuers, and losses from nonprime mortgages were also minimal during the quarter ... [Includes one data chart]

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is calling upon the CFPB and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to be more transparent about how they plan to use the information they want to collect for their joint National Mortgage Database. “First and foremost, NAFCU believes greater transparency should be provided by the FHFA and CFPB on what this information is being used for and which divisions within each agency have access to it,” NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Angela Meyster said in a letter to the FHFA. In addition, NAFCU urged the FHFA and CFPB to select only robust and representative subsets of the data when they seek to use it to support particular policies or rulemakings. “Further, the agencies should ...

President Obama is expected to announce his intent to nominate Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan as director of the Office of Management and Budget and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to replace him. If confirmed by the Senate, Castro would be the second Hispanic after Henry Cisneros to assume the top post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Also a former mayor of San Antonio, Cisneros served as HUD secretary during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 1997. Currently in his third term as mayor, Castro is a strong advocate of affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, inner-city investment and child education and works closely with the San Antonio Housing Authority. San Antonio mortgage bankers said they have had little interaction with Castro, who, they say is “big on housing issues.” “We’re hoping to hear a little bit more about his ...

Although the long-term prospects for the agency MBS market are highly uncertain, the near-term future is wherever Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae take it – and the highly anticipated shift in investor demand as the Federal Reserve eases out of the market. The development of a common securitization platform for Fannie and Freddie will take several years, even after the Federal Housing Finance Agency narrowed the project, said Bob Ryan, a special advisor to the FHFA, during a panel session at this week’s Secondary Market Conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The 2014 plan for the government-sponsored enterprises includes clarifying the scope of the CSP project, which has been in the works for over a year. “We’re not talking...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is soon expected to launch an intense debate on the pricing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS guaranties that could broaden the credit box and shape how much business the government-sponsored enterprises do. Bob Ryan, a special advisor to the FHFA, said that the agency hopes to come out with its “request for information” on guaranty fees in the near future. During a panel session at the Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary Market Conference in New York City, he said the FHFA has been working closely with the two GSEs on the factors that go into their g-fee calculations. “Folks need...

Fannie Mae this week priced its second credit risk-sharing deal of 2014. The $1.6 billion note is the government-sponsored enterprise’s third and largest transaction under its Connecticut Avenue Securities series since the Federal Housing Finance Agency ordered both Fannie and Freddie Mac to shrink the GSEs’ role in the U.S. housing market last year. In its latest offering – Series 2014-C02 – Fannie said it included reference loans with original loan-to-value ratios of up to 97 percent. Previous C-deal offerings included reference loans with up to 80 percent original LTV ratios. “As the market moves from a refinance market to a purchase-money market, it is...

Among the largest servicers, Ocwen Financial Corp. and RoundPoint Mortgage had the highest overall delinquency rates during the first quarter. However, both firms specialize in “high touch” product.