Has The Mortgage Deconstruction Trend Run Its Course? The trend of deconsolidation among residential originators is likely to reverse due to the advantages of large lenders, according to projections from Fannie Mae. “The recent decline in large-lender share of the primary market is temporary, and principally a result of cyclical factors that caused larger lenders to pull back from the market,” said Gerry Flood, director of strategic planning in Fannie’s economic and strategic research division.

Commercial banks and savings institutions coughed up $1.998 billion in mortgage repurchases and indemnifications during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data. It was the lowest quarterly repurchase total for the industry since the third quarter of 2008, when the buyback storm was just beginning to gather force. The third quarter 2013 total also reflected a 25.2 percent drop from the second quarter. For the first nine months of 2013 ... [Includes one data chart]

Declining refinance volume contributed to a marked decline in the GSEs’ overall business at the end of 2013 as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posted big declines in business on a quarterly and total 12-month basis, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Fannie and Freddie issued $182.2 billion in new single-family mortgage-backed securities during the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2013, a two-year low.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities remained the preferred investment choice of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks during the third quarter of 2013, with a modest increase from the previous quarter, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside The GSEs based on data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Meanwhile, Ginnie Mae securities posted a pocket-sized increase within the FHLBank system during the period ending Sept. 30, 2013.

When it comes to the new QM rule lenders are operating from a position of fear. You can bet that mortgage attorneys in the Washington DC area have racked up the billable hours, holding their clients’ hands and supplying legal advice as the clock strikes midnight.

Some lawmakers and non-agency interests are not happy with new Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt’s move this week to delay a planned 10 basis point increase in the government-sponsored enterprises’ MBS guaranty fees. Two days after he was sworn in to a five-year term as FHFA director, Watt followed through on a promise he made late last month to delay then FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco’s announced 10 bps g-fee hike. Watt promised sellers at least 120 days before implementing any changes. The g-fee increase was set...

Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Mark Warner, D-VA, said this week they are unmoved by arguments that the government-sponsored enterprises have all but repaid the capital fronted by the federal government and that future GSE profits should be directed to GSE shareholders, including hedge funds that have increased their holdings in recent months. “We respect the Constitution, and we understand there are some issues that need to be worked through. But at the end of the day, the GSEs would have no value whatsoever had the government not stepped in,” Corker said at a discussion hosted by the Financial Services Roundtable. He told shareholders – such as Pershing Square Capital Management and Fairholme Funds – to file lawsuits against the federal government. “Go through the courts and seek legal remedy,” Corker said. Warner said...

If a GSE reform bill doesn’t at least move out of committee – even better, clear a vote on the Senate floor this year – lawmakers and experts agreed this week that the window to cement a meaningful legislative solution to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is in danger of closing. Speaking at a Financial Services Roundtable Housing Policy Council forum on GSE reform, Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Mark Warner, D-VA, said they would very much like to see a mark-up of their bill, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act, S. 1217, sooner rather than later.

Two days after he was sworn in to a five-year term as the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new director, Mel Watt followed through on a pledge he made last month following his Senate confirmation and officially delayed a GSE guaranty fee increase. Watt this week countermanded a move by his predecessor, then-Acting Director Edward DeMarco, who announced in December a number of GSE pricing structure changes.

In 2014, lawmakers and the Obama administration will no longer be able to avoid confronting claims by GSE shareholders seeking recovery, says an expert. This week, while attending a Financial Services Roundtable Housing Policy Council forum on GSE reform, financial industry consultant Bert Ely quizzed Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Mark Warner, D-VA, about GSE securities.