Fannie, Freddie Subprime Holdings Continue to Run Off. The GSEs’ holdings of nonprime mortgages continue to decline, largely due to runoff, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets, an affiliated publication. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held a combined $252.2 billion of Alt A and subprime mortgage assets at the end of the second quarter, down 18.3 percent from 2Q13. Purchased/guaranteed mortgages account for 71.9 percent of the holdings, with the rest of the GSEs’ nonprime exposure in non-agency mortgage-backed securities.
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.
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.”
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.