Ginnie Mae is following its own path in exploring potential changes to servicer compensation, a project that parallels the Federal Housing Finance Agencys Joint Initiative on Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac servicing compensation. As part of the FHAs effort to improve default servicing, Ginnie Mae and other government housing agencies will be working separately to develop better claims mechanisms and pooling services as well as clearer risk and warranty delineations to improve the value of securitizations, the FHFA said. In a discussion paper, the FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, said ...
The use of Federal Home Loan Bank advances by banks and thrifts continued to fall during the second quarter of 2011, with one top-three bank moving up a notch due to increased advance use on a year-over-year basis, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Bank Mortgage Database.Banks and thrifts reported using a combined $341.1 billion in advances as of June 30, 2011, down 4.7 percent from the first quarter of 2011 and off 23.4 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities continued to be the preferred investment option for the Federal Home Loan Banks during the second quarter of 2011 with only a paltry decrease from the previous quarter, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside The GSEs based on data provided by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.Ginnie Mae securities, meanwhile, continued to grow in popularity within the FHLBank system during the quarter.
The Federal Home Loan Bank system has requested that federal regulators clearly and unambiguously exempt the FHLBanks long-standing mortgage purchase programs from the governments emerging risk-retention rule on securitization.In comments submitted to regulators last month on the interagency proposed rule, the 12 FHLBanks signed a joint letter to ensure the Banks Acquired Member Assets programs will be exempt under the final rule.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency needs to tweak its proposed eligibility certification form for prospective directors of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks, according to comments received by the Finance Agency.
Debt issuance for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks rose during the second quarter of 2011, while Freddie recorded a decline in new debt during the April to June period.The GSEs collectively issued $726.2 billion in new debt during the second quarter, a 2.6 percent increase from the previous quarter, while GSE debt outstanding at $2.168 trillion declined 4.8 percent from the first quarter.
Several of the prudential management and operations standards recently proposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency are duplicative of, or conflict with, current regulatory requirements and should be further refined before final issuance, according to a comment letter written by the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks.The FHLBanks suggest numerous and significant revisions or clarifications to the proposed rule the FHFA issued in June.
The consensus among mortgage market watchers is that the downgrade earlier this month of the GSEs by Standard & Poors will have no immediate, detrimental impact even as Fitch Ratings this week said it is keeping Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs AAA rating.Fitch this week also said its outlook for Fannie and Freddies ratings remained stable. The move was in concert with Fitchs decision to keep its rating on U.S. debt at the highest grade.A key element of the explicit support is the guarantee by the U.S. Treasury to inject funds into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so that each firm can avoid being considered technically insolvent by their regulator, said the rating agency.
The Federal Home Loan Banks are moving forward with plans that would permit the Banks to bolster their capital following confirmation earlier this month that the FHLBanks have officially paid off their interest debt on Resolution Funding Corporation bonds.The Federal Housing Finance Agency formally announced on Aug. 5 that the 12 FHLBanks completed their REFCORP obligations with their July 15, 2011 payment. The Finance Agency subsequently approved amended plans for the Banks.
Despite the newly signed debt ceiling deal passed in the nick of time this week by Congress and signed by President Obama, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks remain at risk of having their AAA ratings downgraded if the government fails in the future to keep its fiscal house in order, according to Moodys Investors Service.Moodys confirmed the AAA government bond rating of the U.S. following the raising of the statutory debt limit on Aug. 2, but the credit rating agency assigned a negative rating outlook to Uncle Sam.