Some investors won’t return to the non-agency MBS market until the federal government establishes minimum standards for issuers, according to Chris Katopis, executive director of the Association of Mortgage Investors. Speaking at the RMBS 3.0 symposium produced by Information Management Network and the Structured Finance Industry Group this month in New York, Katopis said investors are frustrated with the lack of action from the government to help the non-agency MBS market. “We know there’s a lot of work going on, but at some point the government has to set minimum standards,” he said.Katopis said investors are happy that SFIG is working on a new representation-and-warranty framework for non-agency MBS. However, the AMI is skeptical of voluntary industry standards. “Having ...
A number of factors could prompt the Federal Housing Finance Agency to reduce the guaranty fees charged by the government-sponsored enterprises in 2016, according to Barclays Capital analysts. “There is an economic argument as well as a policy argument to be made for reducing g-fees, especially given a greater focus on credit availability and less focus on shrinking the GSEs’ footprint,” Barclays said in a recent report. “A g-fee cut could be one of the policy developments ...
Freddie Mac failed to meet all of its goals aimed at lending to low-income homebuyers in 2014, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s preliminary annual housing report, and Rep. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, wants to know why those particular home-purchase goals went unmet. The FHFA sets annual affordability goals for the two government-sponsored ...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that the baseline conforming-loan limit will remain at $417,000 in 2016. As of the third quarter of 2015, the house-price index used to make adjustments in the conforming-loan limit still had not caught up to the level set back in the third quarter of 2007. However, high-cost loan limits will go up in 39 counties next year, the FHFA said.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced this week that the baseline conforming-loan limit for the government-sponsored enterprises will remain unchanged in 2016 at $417,000. High-cost loan limits will increase in 39 counties next year, up to a maximum of $625,500 in the continental U.S. Fitch Ratings downgraded various servicer ratings for Residential Credit Solutions last week. The rating service said regulatory scrutiny ... [Includes four briefs]
Despite FHA’s denial of further mortgage insurance premium reductions any time soon, stakeholders are holding out hope for another cut in the near future. Those supporting the idea of another pricing adjustment say it could open the door wider for more borrowers to use the FHA single-family program and generate the volume needed to offset any potential revenue loss that may result from the reduction. But Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and his top officials have denied any plans of reducing MIPs. Castro has called such talk “premature,” despite a positive FY 2015 actuarial evaluation of the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, which some claim could be used to justify another premium reduction. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing and Interim FHA Chief Ed Golding, in a press briefing, said the focus is elsewhere and not on ...
New York financial regulators have barred VA lender New Day Financial from doing any more business in the state for allegedly cheating on state-required continuing-education courses and examinations. The New York Department of Financial Services slapped the Fulton, MD-based lender (also doing business as New Day USA) with a $1 million fine and ordered it to surrender its mortgage banker’s license. The department accused top New Day executives as well as current and former employees of perpetrating an elaborate cheating scheme whereby compliance staffers took the required education courses and exams on behalf of senior managers and loan officers. According to state regulators, the cheating happened on numerous occasions and involved at least 20 New Day loan originators. The MLOs shared screen-shots of questions included in the National Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR) exams and ...
Menendez Introduces HAWK Amendment in T-HUD Appropriations Bill. The National Association of Realtors recently sent a thank-you note to Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, for introducing an amendment to H.R. 2577, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2016, to restore HUD’s authority to offer the Homeowners Armed with Knowledge (HAWK) program. Lawmakers who were concerned about the financial condition of the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund denied funding for the HAWK program last year in a continuing spending bill, effectively stalling the program for a year. The HAWK program is a key component of the FHA’s Blueprint for Access, which was designed to open up the credit box for underserved borrowers. Specifically, program participants will benefit from reductions in FHA premiums once they complete ...
All of the red ink spilled on MSR marks in the third quarter will be reversed and turned into gains when servicers report their results early next year? “Generally, that’s correct,” said one mortgage CEO.
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