The once deadlocked but now all-but-certain confirmation of Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, to be the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has left industry observers uncertain as to the continued policy direction of the FHFA. Based on client conversations, Compass Point Research & Trading Analyst Isaac Boltansky speculated in an analysis that the FHFA’s announcement last week to retain its baseline maximum conforming loan limit was influenced by Watt’s widely expected, pending confirmation.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency may be close to picking a chairman to head the common securitization platform project, which still does not have a chief executive officer, according to one source briefed on the matter. This official, who requested his name not be used, said there are two prospects for the chairman slot, “but FHFA still hasn’t decided on one.” The CSP, formally known as Common Securitization Solutions LLC, is a joint venture equally owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. CSS recently signed a lease on office space in Bethesda, MD, just outside the District of Columbia.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still weighing final risk-to-capital rules for mortgage insurance firms that conduct business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with a target release date of mid-December, MI executives told Inside The GSEs. MI sources with knowledge of the situation said the FHFA will likely issue a risk-to-capital minimum of 18:1 compared to the current standard of 25:1. Also, there is talk of a phase-in period and “bi-furcation” for legacy versus new companies.

It is no longer a question of “if” the Federal Housing Finance Agency will have a new head but rather “how soon.” When that occurs, the question will shift to “what’s next,” say industry observers. Following its return from Thanksgiving recess, the U.S. Senate could move as early as next Tuesday to vote to confirm Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, President Obama’s pick to run the FHFA. The nominations of Watt and Janet Yellen to head the FHFA and the Federal Reserve, respectively, are tethered on the Senate’s agenda by design.

Brokers and the trade groups that represent them believe new regulations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put them at a competitive advantage to lenders that actually fund mortgages.

The agencies securitized just $35.46 billion of refinance loans during November, down 15 percent from the previous month, and refinances accounted for 44 percent of total issuance.

With Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, expected to be officially installed as the permanent director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency as soon as next week, the change could slow the use of risk-sharing deals at the government-sponsored enterprises and progress on the common securitization platform. Of particular concern to investors in the risk-sharing deals is the role mortgage insurance companies play in the transactions. According to industry observers, current FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco would like...

A Manhattan federal judge last week approved a proposed settlement by bankrupt Residential Capital with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to resolve billions of dollars in claims tied to toxic MBS sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the run-up to the financial crisis. Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the agreement, which is tied to a settlement the FHFA reached with Ally Financial, ResCap’s former parent, in late October. Under the agreement, the FHFA will receive...

Expect the largest U.S. banks to continue to feel the effects of the mortgage implosion as they pony up over $100 billion to get out from under their legacy mortgage litigation issues, according to an analysis by Standard and Poor’s. Since 2009, S&P noted that the big banks – Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo – together have paid or set aside more than $45 billion for mortgage representation-and-warranty issues and have incurred some $50 billion in combined legal expenses. This does not include...

The mortgage insurance industry is anxiously awaiting new risk-to-capital rules from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, hoping that the regulator will go easy on an industry that is beginning to recover from a years-long debacle and reclaim market share from the FHA. Private MI executives close to the matter told Inside Mortgage Finance that the FHFA will likely issue a minimum risk-to-capital ratio of 18:1, a tougher standard than the current 25:1, but there is also talk of a phase-in period and “bifurcation” for legacy versus new companies. According to its securities filings, National MI, a new MI, has agreed...