In years past, some have likened Fannie and Freddie to being giant thrift institutions...

According to an informational circular on Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, some of the top executives at the firm used to work for Southstar Funding in Sandy Spring, GA.

The integrated disclosure rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to shake up the mortgage industry months before it even takes effect. Particularly unsettled are settlement agents, who hope they continue to stay relevant in the new world of mortgage originations, but fear their role will be diminished if not rendered obsolete. “The lender is ceding less authority to the closing agent but they are still letting them close the transactions with greater supervision,” said one industry insider. “Could that change? There is a fear it might, but that is not how it is now.” Joseph Ventrone, vice president for regulatory and industry relations at the National Association of Realtors, put...

Former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd testified Tuesday in a civil trial over losses the GSE suffered on nonprime MBS...

ICBA also suggested extending QM exceptions to more community banks by raising the threshold number of loans small lenders can originate each year.

Few lenders are counting on a reduction in the current “ongoing” GSE fee, which increased from 13 basis points in 2009 to 40 bps in 2013.

Some banks have already been doing loan closings themselves...

So, how come Freddie has conducted a handful of NPL sales thus far and Fannie Mae has not?

Nomura Holdings is unlikely to suffer a hit in ratings because of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s mortgage-backed securities lawsuit, but the litigation may yet prove costly to the Japanese financial holding company, according to a recent report from Fitch Ratings. Nomura went to trial on March 16 to defend itself against allegations that it misrepresented the underlying asset quality of MBS it sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prior to the financial crisis ...

Although HARP originations plunged by 76 percent last year, the FHFA may keep the program alive.