Short Takes: MBA Shows the Love for FHFA’s Mel Watt / Looser Mortgage Credit? Are You Crazy? / The CFPB ‘ePilot’ Moves Closer / The Fear of Running Out of Money / Are You Afraid of Ghosts? October 21, 2014 Paul Muolo and Thomas Ressler After all, didn’t America suffer a housing “depression” because credit was too loose? Some GOP conservatives in Congress live by the edict: those who can own; those who can’t rent…Read More
Ocwen’s Stock Plunges After NYS Levies More Allegations Against the Firm October 21, 2014 Paul Muolo At press time, the firm’s share price was getting crushed, down 25 percent on the day to a new 52-week low of $19.89.Read More
CFPB Throws the Industry a Few Bones on theTRID Rule October 20, 2014 Thomas Ressler This could mean lenders would require borrowers to lock interest rates only during business hours or even early in the day.Read More
Ginnie Mae Ushers in New Capital Rules for Issuers; Firms Will be Scored Monthly October 20, 2014 John Bancroft and Paul Muolo Buyers of “bulk” Ginnie mortgage servicing rights will have to meet the test by January 2015. Read More
A New Player in Mortgage M&A: Mid-sized Commercial Banks October 20, 2014 Paul Muolo Charbonneau, Klein and other advisors report that mortgage M&A activity is the strongest it has been in years. Read More
Short Takes: Will FHFA’s Mel Watt Deliver the Goods? / Actually, Fannie is Buying 97 Percent LTV Loans, But… / IBM Gets Whacked / First Republic’s GOS / Quicken CEO Sworn in at MBA Show October 20, 2014 Paul Muolo What does IBM have to do with the mortgage business? Actually quite a bit, IBM is one of Fannie Mae’s largest technology vendors...Read More
FHFA Chief Floats Initiatives Tied to Looser Credit: More Buyback Relief and Higher LTVs October 20, 2014 Paul Muolo In defining misrepresentations, FHFA will set a minimum number of loans that must be identified with one of the six trigger elements.Read More
Wall Street Says ‘Not so Fast’ On Single GSE Security; Lenders Say Full Speed Ahead October 17, 2014 George Brooks Creation of a single GSE MBS would eliminate Freddie Mac's pricing disadvantage and improve liquidity in the to-be-announced market.Read More
Small Mortgage Lenders Renew Call for Lower FHA Premiums; A Healthier MMIF? October 17, 2014 George Brooks The fiscal 2014 audit report on the health of the FHA MMIF is expected to be released in mid-November.Read More
Judge Won't Give Former Fannie CFO Access to Documents in Hedge Fund Case October 17, 2014 Charles Wisniowski Government attorneys sought to block Howard’s access on the grounds that he owns Fannie shares and would be biased.Read More