Bank of America earlier this year finally settled its long-running dispute with Fannie Mae over buyback demands, an agreement that may help open a window to the government-sponsored enterprise that has been limited to refinance loans. During the first quarter of 2013, BofA sold $6.52 billion of mortgages to Fannie – all of them refinance loans. The company hasn’t sold purchase-money mortgages to the GSE since early 2012, when the two broke off new transactions that didn’t involve refinancing of existing Fannie loans serviced by the bank. In fact, BofA only sold...

Look for Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s cadre of approved mortgage insurance companies to soon be required to adapt to new policies and eligibility standards in order to continue insuring loans purchased by the two government-sponsored enterprises, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency told lawmakers last week. Testifying before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco said that among the Finance Agency’s priorities for 2013 will be to update its MI master policies “by clarifying the role and responsibilities of insurance carriers,” particularly when servicers pursue loss mitigation to help delinquent borrowers. To better protect the interests of Fannie and Freddie, DeMarco said...

Mortgage lending firms that want to do business directly with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as approved seller/servicers are encouraged to apply with one or both of the government-sponsored enterprises but only if they are prepared to go the distance to demonstrate they are a good, risk-free fit for the agencies, GSE executives and experts noted during an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar last week. Would-be applicants should not confuse the agencies’ “somewhat conservative” posture under conservatorship for disinterest in taking on new seller/servicers, explained National Union Mortgage President and CEO Bill Cosgrove. “They are open for new business,” he told...

“We need the light hand of government to set standards and systems for the market to move forward and private capital to return,” said Chris Katopis, executive director of the Association of Mortgage Investors, in testifying at a hearing this week in the House Financial Services Committee. While members of the committee appear to be nowhere near agreement on how to resolve the ongoing conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – or how they might be replaced – lawmakers, non-agency MBS issuers and investors all agreed on the need for new standards to increase non-agency MBS activity. The AMI called...

Republicans in Congress worry about the CFPB collecting too much data on consumers but are their concerns overblown?

Stearns Lending, one of the fastest growing servicers in the U.S., has hired a new manager to help it with servicing acquisitions.

Although Flagstar earned money on its mortgage business in the first quarter, its gain-on-sale margin took a major hit.

ASF suggests that one way to reduce the market share of the GSEs is to hike guaranty fees once again.

Perhaps, the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance fund won't need a bailout after all: In 1Q delinquencies fell by just over 9 percent, according to exclusive figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance publications.

The Basel III accords may never happen, but if they do, some large servicers will have to reduce their MSR footprint.