With housing finance reform legislation effectively stalled just short of a Senate floor vote, the industry is beginning to shift its expectant gaze to the Federal Housing Finance Agency to take the initiative as the debate moves toward GSE preservation. Although the reform bill, S. 1217, by Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, cleared the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee earlier this month, its less than impressive 13-9 vote margin all but ensures that Senate leadership will ignore the measure’s bid for a floor vote through the remainder of the 113th Congress.

Expect it to take years for the courts to resolve lawsuits filed by private investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock, with the odds heavily stacked in the government’s favor, note industry observers. Speaking during a recent Bloomberg Industries webinar on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac litigation, Brooklyn Law School Professor David Reiss noted it could take the courts up to a year simply to resolve the introductory motions.

Industry trade groups are calling on the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be more transparent about how they plan to use the information the agencies want to collect to build the National Mortgage Database. Earlier this year, the FHFA announced it will begin to collect additional, more specific and personal information on borrowers and loans as part of the National Mortgage Database project the agency launched with the CFPB in 2012. An FHFA announcement in the Federal Register noted that under a “revised system of records,” the database will begin collecting demographic and personal contact info for borrowers and their households, as well as loan-level data on mortgage performance.

State regulators note that their concerns about nonbanks relate to significant growth in recent months prompted in part by increased capital requirements for banks.

The Center for American Progress, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and other groups want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to survive and are persuading several Democratic politicians to side with them. As for the GOP...

Construction-to-permanent loans are picking up a head of steam in certain markets. “Down here [in Florida] it’s extremely hot,” said Joe Adamaitis, vice president and residential lending manager for Insignia Bank.

Look for the various lawsuits filed by private owners of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock against the federal government to take a “very long time to be decided,” as the courts may take up to a year to resolve just the introductory motions, according to a legal expert. Beyond that, the litigation over shares in the two government-sponsored enterprises could stretch out to the U.S. Supreme Court. Brooklyn Law School Professor David Reiss, speaking during a Bloomberg Industries webinar last week, noted that lawsuits stemming from the savings and loan debacle of 20 years ago give a sense of the possible timeframe, but litigation brought by disenfranchised Fannie and Freddie investors against the government offers an entirely different and deeper set of legal complexities. “These are...

In his report, Guggenheim analyst Jaret Seiberg writes, “There is still anger in Congress over having to put cash into the enterprises in the first time."

Lack of Congressional funding, however, has put a damper on the initiative. And lenders generally oppose proposals where they would be charged a subsidy fee.

“In recent client meetings, Stratmor heard that lender fees are now being included in the rate sheet price,” Yung said. Indications are that the 3 percent cap is causing lenders to fold the lender fees into the rate – specifically on the retail side.