Mortgage underwriting standards have loosened slightly recently, though nowhere near levels seen during the subprime boom. Federal regulators are concerned that not enough lending is being directed toward borrowers with lower credit scores. In November 2012, the average credit score on newly closed loans was 750, according to Ellie Mae. Average scores have largely declined each month since then, to 742 in April. During that time, credit scores on conventional mortgage originations declined by ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week directed servicers to inform homeowners reeling from the damage inflicted by the tornados that swept through Oklahoma and other states that they may be eligible for a temporary reprieve on their mortgage payments. The GSEs’ disaster relief policies are targeted to borrowers with homes in jurisdictions President Obama has declared to be Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual Assistance programs are being made available to affected individuals and households.

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, overturning a lower court ruling that the counties and state of Michigan were entitled to collect local real estate transfer taxes from the two government-sponsored enterprises. This week’s unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said the lower court is not in a position to second-guess Congress by creating exemptions to tax statutes. “The statutes at issue here plainly state that the defendants are exempt from ‘all taxation,’” the court ruled. In June 2011, Oakland and Genesee counties each filed suit claiming Fannie and Freddie recorded deeds and other conveyances without paying the Michigan Transfer Tax.

Freddie Mac this week issued $1.04 billion of mortgage-backed securities backed by modified loans.The notes are being pooled into new Freddie Mac “Fixed-Rate Modified Participation Certificates” with new "MA-MD" prefixes. The GSE bought the majority of these loans out of participation certificates when they were at least 120 days past due. A Freddie official said that it will not sell the new bonds in the open market and instead will hold them on balance sheet.

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’ conservatorships have caused the government’s involvement in the mortgage market to “balloon to unhealthy proportions” since the two GSEs entered government conservatorship in 2008, creating far-reaching effects on the private sector, crowding out potential capital and blocking real market competition, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.The fix, the MBA suggests, calls for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to require the two GSEs to accept loans with deeper levels of credit enhancement in exchange for reductions in guaranty fees and other loan-level charges.“By requiring the GSEs to offer programs such as up-front risk sharing between lenders and the GSEs, the FHFA would be taking a big step in the right direction,” said MBA President and CEO David Stevens. “Ultimately, this would put private capital, not taxpayers, in the first loss position and would allow lenders of all sizes to compete, driving down costs for borrowers.”

The $443 million non-agency MBS, Chase’s second of the year, is set to receive AAA ratings with credit enhancement ranging from 6.90 percent to 10 percent for the top tranches.

Freddie Mac is creating a large MBS backed by reperforming mortgages. But don't look for the bond to be sold in the open market.

Mortgage bankers originated $54 billion of jumbo loans in the first quarter, a slight decline from the prior period but the second best showing in two years.

Private capital could better find its way back into the mortgage market, with decreasing costs for taxpayers and borrowers, if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would offer risk-sharing options to lenders at the “point of sale,” according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA first floated the concept several weeks ago at its secondary market conference in New York. In a white paper released this week, the group called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to require the two government-sponsored enterprises to accept loans with deeper levels of credit enhancement in exchange for reductions in guaranty fees and other loan-level charges. “This new structure would bring...

The FHFA IG acknowledged the regulator's progress in stabilizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but said the agency “can do more to enhance its role as conservator and regulator.”