Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt ended his first week on his new job by announcing four special advisors “to provide counsel on policy and strategic decisions” at the FHFA. Megan Moore will join the Finance Agency as Special Advisor – Intergovernmental.

Expect the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General and its investigators to continue to seek out an “increasingly active role” alongside federal and state prosecutors in the pursuit of financial fraud cases – whether or not there is a GSE connection, according to an industry attorney. Industry lawyer and one-time federal prosecutor Andrew Schilling of BuckleySandler noted in a recent opinion piece what the FHFA’s official watchdog itself recently boasted – that the OIG seeks to expand its investigative presence in 2014.

Two days after he was sworn in to a five-year term as the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new director, Mel Watt followed through on a pledge he made last month following his Senate confirmation and officially delayed a GSE guaranty fee increase. Watt this week countermanded a move by his predecessor, then-Acting Director Edward DeMarco, who announced in December a number of GSE pricing structure changes.

In 2014, lawmakers and the Obama administration will no longer be able to avoid confronting claims by GSE shareholders seeking recovery, says an expert. This week, while attending a Financial Services Roundtable Housing Policy Council forum on GSE reform, financial industry consultant Bert Ely quizzed Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Mark Warner, D-VA, about GSE securities.

This year’s prolonged and bitter political fight to install Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, as the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency may turn out to have been the easy part, say industry observers, as he prepares to assume his place as arguably the most powerful mortgage regulator in the U.S. Last week’s 57-41 vote was the second successful confirmation under new Senate rules that essentially eliminated the filibuster for presidential appointments. In November, Senate Democrats muscled through a procedural change that replaced the 60-vote supermajority on nominations with a simple majority vote, shutting down GOP efforts to block Watt’s advance to the Finance Agency’s corner office.

One day after the Senate’s confirmation of Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, as the new head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco last week announced senior staff changes and a significant reorganization of the agency’s internal structure. The Finance Agency will be combining two offices managing conservatorship-related matters into a new Division of Conservatorship to be led by Wanda DeLeo, currently serving as the FHFA’s deputy director in the Office of Strategic Initiatives.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed this week to establish “loan-purchase” limits for the GSEs which won’t occur until next October at the earliest. The regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is seeking comments regarding loan-purchase limits 4.0 percent below the statutory GSE loan limits. The FHFA said it is considering a $600,000 purchase limit in the highest-cost markets and a purchase limit of $400,000 in non high-cost markets.

Fannie, Freddie Suspend Holiday Evictions. In what has become an annual tradition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each announced last week that all foreclosure-related evictions of single-family and two-to-four unit properties are suspended until after the New Year.“At this time of year, we want to bring some relief to families who confronted financial difficulties and went through foreclosure,” said Chris Bowden, Freddie’s senior vice president of REO. The GSEs are also encouraging struggling homeowners to contact their servicers for help to avoid foreclosure. “We encourage any homeowner who is having difficulty making their mortgage payment to reach out for help right away,” added Fannie Chief Operating Officer Terry Edwards.

A Manhattan federal judge last week approved a proposed settlement by bankrupt Residential Capital with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to resolve billions of dollars in claims tied to toxic MBS sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the run-up to the financial crisis. Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the agreement, which is tied to a settlement the FHFA reached with Ally Financial, ResCap’s former parent, in late October. Under the agreement, the FHFA will receive...

A Manhattan federal court this week approved a proposed settlement between Residential Capital and the Federal Housing Finance Agency that both clears the way for the former conduit to exit bankruptcy and brings the FHFA one step closer to completing its massive legal action against some of the nation’s top financial institutions.Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the agreement, which is tied to a settlement the FHFA reached with Ally Financial, ResCap’s former parent, in late October.