Borrowers with existing FHA-insured mortgages may continue to utilize the agency’s streamline refinance program regardless of their loan balance. The current cap of $271,050 for “low cost” areas will remain unchanged.

A Manhattan federal court this week approved a proposed settlement between Residential Capital and the Federal Housing Finance Agency that both clears the way for the former conduit to exit bankruptcy and brings the FHFA one step closer to completing its massive legal action against some of the nation’s top financial institutions.Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the agreement, which is tied to a settlement the FHFA reached with Ally Financial, ResCap’s former parent, in late October.

The once deadlocked but now all-but-certain confirmation of Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, to be the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has left industry observers uncertain as to the continued policy direction of the FHFA. Based on client conversations, Compass Point Research & Trading Analyst Isaac Boltansky speculated in an analysis that the FHFA’s announcement last week to retain its baseline maximum conforming loan limit was influenced by Watt’s widely expected, pending confirmation.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still weighing final risk-to-capital rules for mortgage insurance firms that conduct business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with a target release date of mid-December, MI executives told Inside The GSEs. MI sources with knowledge of the situation said the FHFA will likely issue a risk-to-capital minimum of 18:1 compared to the current standard of 25:1. Also, there is talk of a phase-in period and “bi-furcation” for legacy versus new companies.

“Our estimate of legal and rep and warrant reserves for the largest banks is a total of roughly $60 billion,” S&P writes in a new report. “We estimate that the largest banks may need to pay out an additional $55 billion to $105 billion to settle mortgage-related issues, some of which is already accounted for in these reserves.”

Ed DeMarco might possibly name a chairman for the CSP platform and let Mel Watt have the final say on the CEO slot. Two mortgage executives interviewed for the CEO job include Peter Carroll and Luke Hayden.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency late this week released proposed criteria for rating non-QMs, making it the second rating service to formally seek comments on such criteria.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, an internal cop for the U.S. securities industry, has proposed a narrower definition of “asset-backed security” to facilitate the reporting of certain transactions, including Rule 144A ABS transactions, to the group’s disclosure system. The new redefined ABS category would apply to a broad group of securities, including ABS pools backed by credit-card receivables, student loans, auto loans and other products and instruments that currently fall under the ABS umbrella. The proposed changes concern required reporting to FINRA’s Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine. Under FINRA’s proposal, ABS is...

Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule that allows the bureau to supervise for the first time the nonbank servicers of private and federal student loans that qualify as “larger participants” in the student-loan servicing market. With an emphasis on supervision, the rule is not expected to have much of an initial effect upon the secondary market for student loans. But the CFPB’s expanding role into the sector could change that, especially if there is a crisis in student-loan lending. The bureau’s new rule defines...

A Manhattan federal judge last week approved a proposed settlement by bankrupt Residential Capital with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to resolve billions of dollars in claims tied to toxic MBS sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the run-up to the financial crisis. Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the agreement, which is tied to a settlement the FHFA reached with Ally Financial, ResCap’s former parent, in late October. Under the agreement, the FHFA will receive...