The Department of Housing and Urban Development has expressed concern about the inspector general’s decision to withhold its opinion on the results of FY 2016 audits of HUD and Ginnie Mae. In its audit report, the HUD inspector general said it has issued a disclaimer of opinion on HUD’s fiscal years 2016 and 2015 (restated) consolidated financial statements because of the agency’s failure to deliver both statements and their accompanying notes in a timely manner. In addition, there were several unresolved audit matters from past audits that prevented the IG from completing an examination of HUD’s and Ginnie Mae’s accounts and rendering an opinion. These unresolved matters related to a number of things, including the Office of General Counsel’s refusal to sign a management representation letter, HUD’s improper use of budgetary accounting methods, and the $4.2 billion in ...
US Court Issues Injunction on DOL’s Overtime Pay Rule. A federal judge in Texas granted states’ motion to block the Department of Labor’s controversial overtime pay rule set to take effect on Dec. 1, 2016. In late breaking news, the Department of Justice said it will appeal the injunction. The decision handed down by Judge Amos Mazzant of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas would deprive approximately 4.2 million workers who stand to benefit from the rule. Twenty-one states, a coalition of business organizations and the Plano Chamber of Commerce challenged the rule in separate amici briefs, arguing they stand to lose money if the final rule takes effect. The final rule would require employers to pay a higher salary level for certain employees to be exempt from overtime. In addition, it would automatically update the minimum salary level every three years. In his decision, Mazzant determined that ...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency raised the maximum conforming loan limit for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages in 2017 for the first time in a decade, but the impact on loan originations is questionable. Meanwhile, the FHA has not yet announced its 2017 loan limits. The baseline loan limit will go up for the first time since 2006, rising from $417,000 to $424,100. And the maximum high-cost loan limit for one-unit properties is climbing to $636,150, an increase of $10,650. The FHFA said that loan limits for the two government-sponsored enterprises will increase in all but 87 counties. An Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data indicates...
The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is likely a couple of months away from formal confirmation by the U.S. Senate of new cabinet officials. But at least one position has apparently been settled – that of Treasury secretary – and other names have been circulated, including that of a possible head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. At the same time, Trump has begun fleshing out the personnel that will serve on various “landing teams,” which help ease the transitions at various federal agencies. On the cabinet level, the new president has decided...
Mortgage lenders and other employers that have made or are preparing to implement changes to comply with the Department of Labor’s revised overtime pay regulations may have to reevaluate whether to hold off or go forward with those plans, according to wage and overtime experts. On Nov. 22, Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas granted a request by several states to block the new overtime pay rules that would have gone into effect on Dec. 1. The judge issued a preliminary injunction after determining that the DOL did not have the authority to decide whether workers should be paid overtime based on their salary level alone. Mazzant agreed...
Based on current trading values, Fannie common now has a market capitalization rate (share price multiplied by number of shares) of $28.01 billion. Freddie common is valued at $15.14 billion.
Lenders and servicers are likely to see some regulatory relief in the coming years though federal support for the housing market could also be reduced, according to officials at the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance recently hosted a call with MBA officials providing projections for how the Trump administration and Republican control of Congress will impact the mortgage industry. “Things that were deemed impossible before the election are now in play,” said Meghan Sullivan, the MBA’s Senate Republican lobbyist. She said...
Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be the next Treasury secretary, startled financial markets this week by indicating he would act quickly to bring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of government conservatorship. “We’ve got to get Fannie and Freddie out of government ownership,” Mnuchin said during an interview with Fox News. “It makes no sense that these [two] are owned by the government and have been controlled by the government for as long as they have. In many cases, this displaces private lending in the mortgage markets, and we need these entities to be safe.” Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive who bought the failed IndyMac Bank and resurrected it as OneWest, continued...
Warehouse providers ended the third quarter with $58.0 billion of commitments on their books, a modest improvement over the prior period and a sign that nonbanks still hunger for residential credit. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, warehouse commitments increased an impressive 23.4 percent, according to survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. That’s the good news. Now comes the bad: with interest rates rising since the election, warehouse managers are voicing their concern about what may lie ahead, namely lower originations. “Right now it feels...[Includes one data table]
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