Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of senior mortgage executives surveyed by Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group in June indicated that they expect operational costs to increase as a result of the CFPB’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule. Most lenders (80 percent) said they “do not plan to pursue non-QM loans” or prefer to “wait and see”. “Larger lenders are more likely to pursue non-QM loans to increase their market share,” Fannie said. Also, most firms (84 percent) reported that they expect at least 90 percent of their single-family mortgage origination dollar volume to still be considered qualified mortgages. Further, “Lenders, on net, expect to tighten credit standards as a result of QM rules,” according to the government-sponsored enterprise, with 36 percent ...

A number of mortgage finance industry groups have expressed concern about how the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule is interfering with the return of private investor capital back into the sector – mostly because of the rule’s assignee liability provisions. The industry comments came in response to a request from the Treasury Department in June for suggestions to encourage private capital to return to the non-agency mortgage-backed securities space. The Association of Institutional Investors said the ATR rule’s assignee liability provision “unfairly punishes investors who have nothing to do with the origination of loans and oftentimes have limited insight into the origination practices.” The assignee liability provision therefore introduces a risk that is almost impossible to price for those not directly involved in ...

CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra is raising the headline risk for banks that fail to be transparent about the campus financial product marketing agreements they have with colleges and universities. In a recent blog post alerting colleges and students about “secret banking contracts,” Chopra indicated the bureau has been mailing out letters to such educational institutions “to make sure they know that their bank partner has not yet committed to transparency when it comes to student financial products” because the financial institution has not yet posted its marketing agreement with the school on its website. Last year, the CFPB launched an inquiry into financial products marketed to college and university students to determine whether the market is working for...

CFPB Making Its Presence Felt Among Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Servicers. Fannie Mae’s latest earning filing indicates the CFPB and/or the New York State Department of Financial Services have been reviewing the activities of Fannie Mae’s three largest non-depository servicers (which would be Nationstar, Ocwen and possibly Quicken Loans, according to the latest ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliated publication). The scrutiny of Quicken Loans seems to be a new development. The bureau would not comment. Meanwhile, during the first half of 2014, Freddie Mac said in its second quarter earnings announcement that it implemented requirements for its seller/ servicers in response to some final rules from the CFPB, including rules concerning the requirements for borrowers’ ability to ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported a combined $5.0 billion in net income during the second quarter of 2014, down 46.2 percent from the first three months of the year as the two government-sponsored enterprises reported a significant downshift in repurchase activity. Through the first six months of the year, GSE profits were down nearly 81.7 percent from the first half of 2013. But Fannie and Freddie reaped huge profits in 2013 through hefty legal settlements, the capture of deferred tax assets and seller buybacks. “When you look back on 2013, our goal was...

Banks need incentives to issue non-agency mortgage-backed securities instead of holding loans in portfolio, according to boosters of the non-agency MBS market. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policies and capital requirements set by federal regulators have played a role in the shift from non-agency MBS issuance to banks holding loans in portfolio. “Historically, major banks were the predominant sponsors of private-label securities transactions, especially for 30-year jumbo fixed-rate loans, which are not a good asset/liability match for their balance sheets,” officials at Redwood Trust noted in a comment letter submitted to the Treasury Department. In June, the Treasury issued a request for comments on how to increase non-agency activity in the mortgage market. In 2013, only 4.8 percent of the estimated $272.0 billion in non-agency jumbo originations were included...

The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Wells Fargo and co-defendant Long & Foster in a class-action dispute involving an affiliated business arrangement. In Minter v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA et al, plaintiffs/appellants Denise Minter, Jason and Rachel Alborough, and Lizbeth Binks brought suit on behalf of a group of consumers alleging that Wells Fargo and Long & Foster Real Estate violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that defendants created a joint venture, Prosperity Mortgage Co., to skirt RESPA’s prohibition on kickbacks in exchange for the referrals of settlement service business while failing to disclose this business arrangement to its customers. Here’s...

The Structured Finance Industry Group this week proposed the first in a planned long line of standards aimed at increasing transparency for non-agency MBS investors and boosting new issuance. The first edition in the SFIG’s series of “green papers” covers certain representations and warranties, triggers for repurchase, due diligence and communication with investors. Richard Johns, SFIG’s executive director, said about 200 individuals from about 50 organizations involved in the non-agency MBS market have participated in Project RMBS 3.0. “The goal here is...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to pay some $5.6 billion to taxpayers based on “normal” second-quarter earnings that were not bloated by big-ticket tax breaks or large litigation settlements, the two government-sponsored enterprises announced this week. Once the two GSEs have made the latest Treasury payment in September, Fannie and Freddie will have returned about $218 billion to taxpayers for the approximately $188 billion in financial support the two firms received after being placed in government conservatorship in September 2008. Under the revised conservatorship agreement announced two years ago this month by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department, any GSE net worth exceeding $3.0 billion is impounded...

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is rolling out a one-year pilot program for a limited number of firms that do not meet the minimum capital requirement for primary dealers to function as counterparties in agency MBS operations it runs for the System Open Market Account portfolio. The FRBNY said its intent is to explore ways to broaden access to open market operations, and to determine the extent to which firms beyond the primary dealer community can augment the FRBNY’s operational capacity and resiliency in its monetary policy operations. “This pilot will allow...