Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitization volume reached its highest level in nearly four years during the first three months of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance market analysis and lender ranking. Ongoing strength in refinance activity was the key. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized a total of $296.4 billion of refinance loans during the first quarter, accounting for a hefty 83.3 percent of their total business. It was the biggest wave of refi loans to hit the GSE market since the second quarter of 2009, when a whopping $373.7 billion of refinances were securitized by Fannie and Freddie – before the Home Affordable Refinance Program reached its stride. While GSE refi business was...[Includes three data charts]

Fannie Mae ended 2012 with its single best quarterly and yearly profit in company history, prompting the government-sponsored enterprise to predict sustained profits “for the foreseeable future,” without taking into income any of the massive allowance it has built up related to deferred taxes. Fannie reported net income this week of $17.2 billion for 2012, compared to a net loss of $16.9 billion in 2011, with fourth quarter earnings of $7.6 billion. A year earlier, the GSE posted a $2.4 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2011. “We had...

Most mortgage-related complaints borrowers filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stemmed from problems they had making their payments, although servicers generally turned in surprisingly high and consistent response rates for timeliness and resolution, according to an analysis of the new data by Inside the CFPB, an affiliated newsletter. Among the 90,000 consumer complaints included in the vastly expanded public database, more than 50,000 – far and away the biggest share – had to do with mortgages. About 30 percent of the mortgage complaints were leveled...[Includes one data chart]

Industry insiders, at least in some corners, may not be wild about the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s recent proposal to curb what it considers excessive force-placed insurance payments but the FHFA’s decision to seek public input on the measure is seen as a promising sign of future openness on agency policymaking. Under the FHFA proposal issued last week, seller/servicers would be prohibited from accepting sales commissions or fees related to the placement of force-placed insurance where a conflict of interest exists between them and the insurance providers and their affiliates. Formally published in the March 29 Federal Register for a 60-day comment period, the FHFA’s proposal responds...

Fannie Mae’s long-awaited year-end 2012 earnings report revealed record-setting profit for the government-sponsored enterprise on both a quarterly and yearly basis, due in part to the company’s loan buyback resolution agreements with Bank of America and a single-family book of business that’s outgrowing its legacy losses. Fannie reported net income this week of $17.2 billion for 2012, compared to a net loss of $16.9 billion in 2011, while the company reported fourth quarter earnings of $7.6 billion. “We have taken a number of actions since 2009 to manage...[Includes one data chart]

Fannie Mae received high, but not quite perfect, marks from the Federal Housing Finance Agency in its compliance with the FHFA’s Conservatorship Scorecard.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered lower losses on their nonprime mortgage holdings in 2012 compared with previous years as mortgage performance has stabilized and investor demand for vintage non-agency mortgage-backed securities has increased.

Fannie Mae said Tuesday that the GSE expects to remain profitable “for the foreseeable future” after posting fourth quarter 2012 earnings of $7.6 billion and annual net income of $17.2 billion, the best quarterly and yearly showing in the company’s history.

The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit overturned a lower court’s ruling from last summer which determined the FHFA was not acting as conservator but as regulator when the agency halted GSE involvement with PACE programs.

Roughly 270 depositories reported some mortgage buyback activity for 2012 but overall repurchases fell to a four-year low. Is the worst of the problem now over?