Pershing Square Capital Management – reportedly the largest investor in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common shares – filed two separate lawsuits last week demanding the federal government cease and desist its “net worth sweep” of GSE profits. The New York hedge fund contends that the government’s action not only illegally shortchanges investors of the GSEs’ common, it also amounts to a de facto liquidation of the two firms, according to its first complaint filed with the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington. The first complaint lists the U.S. as a defendant, as well as Fannie and Freddie as nominal defendants.

The head of a group of disenfranchised Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors has called on Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt to end conservatorship of the two GSEs and undo what stakeholders consider the illegal government “net worth sweep” of Fannie and Freddie profits. Tim Pagliara, executive director of Investors Unite, followed Watt to Atlanta to seek a meeting with and to put pressure on the director to acknowledge the concerns of GSE shareholders.

In July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed adding 40 new data fields for collection under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Industry attorneys advised lenders to look at their current operations through the data fields the CFPB will likely see and make adjustments before the federal regulator completes new in-depth analysis. Warren Traiger, counsel at the law firm of BuckleySandler, said the new HMDA data will be a fair lending “game changer” ...

A fair question to ask is this: If DOJ goes after Mozilo, why not go after the owners of Ameriquest/Argent which created so much of the faulty subprime product that Greenwich securitized?

Currently, residential lenders only have to report information on a closed-end reverse mortgage if the transaction involves a home purchase, home improvement or refinancing.

Another concern was that out-of-state call center lenders might not know the local lending laws, which can result in delayed closings.

The average loan officer makes a $4,000 commission on each reach reverse mortgage they originate. Really?

Among the banks reporting that the rules had no effect on their approval rates, half indicated that lending policies would have been tighter without the safe harbor for mortgages that pass the GSEs’ automated underwriting models.

In its statement announcing the settlement, BofA stressed, “The claims relate primarily to conduct that occurred at Countrywide and Merrill Lynch prior to Bank of America's acquisition of those entities.”

The second-quarter rebound in mortgage profits was linked to an increase in new lending and loan sales.