Expect an “across the board” reduction in Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s conforming loan limits sometime next spring, said Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, during a speech late this week. DeMarco telegraphed his loan limit decision for 2014 – which he will announce in late November – during remarks at a daylong conference sponsored by Zillow and the Bipartisan Policy Center. While the new limits will be announced in late November, the traditional timing of the announcement, the agency will give sellers six months to implement them. “Any reduction would be...

The government-sponsored enterprises should revise their representation and warranty policies, including setting a two-year sunset, according to the Urban Institute’s new Housing Finance Policy Center. The move could reduce underwriting overlays set by lenders and increase credit availability. “We would expect to see a small but perceptible widening of credit in the months ahead, but it’s going to be very small until we solve the rep and warrant issue and the regulatory uncertainty issue,” said Laurie Goodman, director of the HFPC, during an event to launch the center. As directed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this year established...

The Treasury Department’s “strategic plan” includes working to reform the government-sponsored enterprises and establishing a new position for a chief risk officer, according to a memo by Mary Miller, the Treasury’s undersecretary for domestic finance. The memo was dated Sept. 16 and uncovered this week by Bloomberg News. Reliable sources confirmed the accuracy of the report. According to the memo, the Treasury plans...

The refrain from bank management was virtually unanimous: mortgage production dropped significantly and gain-on-sale margins narrowed. Although mortgage servicing right values continued to climb, that doesn’t always translate into improved earnings on that side of the business.

Is Ed DeMarco unimpressed with Fannie and Freddie's return to profitability? “…we should keep the recent reports of positive net income in perspective,” he told the audience of the Bipartisan Policy Center this week. “Much of it has been related to one-time adjustments..."

As lawmakers turn their attention to mortgage finance reform, including a final resolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, industry observers point to the current bipartisan effort in the Senate as the most promising avenue to legislative consensus. However, practical complexities and political considerations all but guarantee that the answer to the GSE question won’t be arrived at the easy way or anytime soon.

In the aftermath of the 16-day partial government shutdown, mortgage lenders have decided to continue suspension of the tax transcript requirement for borrower income verification until the Internal Revenue Service has caught up with the backlog of requests for the transcripts. According to lenders, even though normal operations have resumed at federal agencies, the IRS has fallen behind on processing lender requests for the 4506-T Form, which is a borrower’s transcript of tax return provided by the ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will make “across the board” reductions to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s conforming loan limits that affect all markets, but the industry will have ample time to plot necessary course corrections, according to FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco. During remarks this week at a conference sponsored by Zillow and the Bipartisan Policy Center, DeMarco said he will announce his loan limit decision in late November – the traditional timing of the announcement.

Countrywide Financial Corp. committed fraud when it sold questionable mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prior to the financial crisis, a New York federal jury determined this week. Bank of America acquired CFC in 2008 and is liable for the fraud. The jury also found that Rebecca Mairone, a former chief operating officer for CFC’s subprime division, Full Spectrum, is liable for fraud for her role in leading its “Hustle” loan program, which was designed by Countrywide to speed up approvals for unqualified borrowers.