Look for the Federal Reserve to repeat last year’s performance and raise interest rates one quarter of one percent in December, according to some supporters and critics of the U.S. central bank, enabling the Fed to say it did, in fact, lift interest rates this year. During its meeting in Washington, DC, this week, the Fed once again, as expected, opted to hold rates unchanged and did not tip its hand about a future move, although some market participants came away with the impression an increase in September is a little more likely than had been the case after the central bank’s last meeting. The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee last raised...

We pick up where we left off last issue with the Department of Veterans Affairs attempting to clarify certain guidance in the VA Lender Handbook. ? If the TRID (Truth in Lending/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosures) closing disclosures change after the veteran signs [the form], should the lender require the veteran to sign it again? VA: The short answer is yes. The lender is required to provide the TRID closing disclosure no later than three business days before consummation. The lender is required to provide a corrected closing disclosure to the borrower three days before consummation or closing in certain instances, and at or before consummation if other types of changes occur, such as adjustment of costs or credits. Therefore, any changes made that require an amended disclosure must have the borrower’s signature. ? Is the Amendatory Clause mandatory for all ...

The Federal Home Loan Banks’ Mortgage Partnership Finance program and Redwood Trust announced a number of changes this week to the MPF Direct product. Beginning Aug. 31, the loan limit will increase to $2.5 million and hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages will be eligible for delivery. The MPF Direct program was launched in 2014, with a loan limit of $729,750, the high-cost loan limit for the government-sponsored enterprises at the time. In the third quarter of 2015, the loan limit for the product was increased to $1.5 million. The loan limit for cash-out refinances is $750,000. “We continue...

The Federal Home Loan Bank’s Mortgage Partnership Finance Direct program significantly raised its loan limits from $1.5 million to $2.5 million, and now includes hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages. This is the second jump in about a year. Last June, the loan limit more than doubled from $729,750 to $1.5 million. MPF Direct participants are often small lending institutions. Eric Schambow, senior vice president and senior director with MPF product management, told Inside The GSEs that in working with members that already deliver under the MPF program and its Advisory Council of Private Funding Institutions, the FHLB heard them express the need to more completely match what the marketplace offers.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sold 41,649 nonperforming loans through May 2016, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s inaugural report on nonperforming loan sales and borrower outcomes. The report, released last week, is the first of two reports the FHFA plans to publish each year highlighting NPL sales activities. The loans had an aggregate unpaid principal balance of $8.5 billion and were delinquent 3.4 years on average. Freddie led the NPL sales market for the GSEs having sold 26,436 delinquent loans. Fannie was a distant second at 15,213. The average loan-to-value ratio was 98 percent. LSF9 Mortgage Holdings and Pretium Mortgage Credit Partners were the top...

Examiners raised several issues in the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s annual report to Congress detailing the work of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.One critical issue in the report, released last week, was the GSEs’ inability to build capital. Examiners said income reductions from shrinking portfolios, coupled with decreases in income from reserve releases and legal settlements and market-to-market volatility from their derivatives portfolio all increase the likelihood of negative net worth in future quarters. Moreover, the examiners said credit-risk transfer initiatives also impose costs that will reduce the GSEs’ earnings. Fannie’s problem assets continued to decline in 2015, but the examiners...

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt is worried about mission creep in the Federal Home Loan Banks and urges them to return to focusing on their core constituents. During remarks at the Federal Home Loan Bank Director’s Conference in Washington this week, Watt said the FHFA continues to monitor whether the FHLBanks are sufficiently focused on their core mission of providing advances and supporting secondary mortgage market access for member institutions. …

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis awarded members this month its first aggregated pool payout in the Mortgage Purchase Program. The MPP was created to reward members for selling high-credit, quality performing loans. Forty-three Indiana and Michigan depository members received more than $761,000 in Lender Risk Account fund payouts. These payouts ranged from $65 up to as much as $112,000 depending on the dollar volume of originated mortgages sold into the pool. The MPP also offers stand-alone pools but the aggregate pools give smaller originators access to more competitive loan pricing that normally only would be available to larger-volume loan originators. Participants in the pool begin receiving LRA payouts...

The Federal Home Loan Bank system earned $825 million in the first quarter of 2016, down from the $1.015 billion earned in the first quarter of 2015, according to figures compiled by the system’s Office of Finance. Lower gains on litigation settlements and higher losses on derivatives and hedging activities for the three months ending on March 31 contributed to the 19 percent decrease, according to the OF. Litigation settlements accounted for $348 million in income in the first quarter compared to $480 million a year earlier. The 1Q16 income was from the FHLBank of San Francisco’s $211 million settlement and the FHLBank of Des Moines’ $137 million settlement of claims arising from investment in non-agency mortgage-backed securities.

Although several high-profile, publicly traded nonbank servicers are having a tough time turning a profit, non-depository institutions continued to build market share in mortgage servicing during the first quarter of 2016, a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking reveals. On the whole, mortgage servicing is somewhat stagnant. The top 50 servicers as of the end of March managed a combined portfolio of $7.266 trillion, down very slightly from the previous quarter. Servicing tied to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities managed a humble 0.2 percent gain in the first quarter, and the non-agency MBS market is still in the doldrums. It remains...[Includes two data tables]