Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were both active this week with multifamily MBS transactions, but they’ll have to double-time it if they plan to match last year’s levels. The odds are against them. Fannie’s multifamily new business volume came to $13.8 billion through August 2014, compared with $20.4 billion the year before. The government-sponsored enterprise would have to crank out another $15 billion in the last four months of 2014 to match the 2013 total of $28.8 billion. For rival Freddie, multifamily new business activity totaled...

Commercial banks hate mortgages. No, they don't. Yes, they do. No they don't. Yes, they do...

Experts Laud FHFA’s Plan for ‘Single Security,’ But Urge Quicker Arrival at Goal. The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s “single security” proposal for a generic Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac MBS is “well-thought out” and “worthy of serious consideration,” but the agency should pick up the pace in its implementation to avoid making the solution part of the problem, according to a paper from the Urban Institute. Lewis Ranieri, chairman of Ranieri Partners, and Laurie Goodman, director of the UI’s Housing Policy Center, expressed concern that the FHFA “may be contemplating a slower pace in the project than it warrants.”

The biggest chunk of purchase business for the GSEs were loans ranging from $200,000 to $300,000, which accounted for 29.4 percent of their business.

The MBA argued that the DOL didn’t follow rulemaking procedures in 2010 when the regulator withdrew guidance stating that loan officers could be exempt from overtime compensation requirements...

On its stated-income product, Homewood requires a minimum of three months of bank statements for both business and personal assets.

As part of the transaction, Cobalt co-founders Keith Tibbles and Ernie Gehre will stay with the company, which will become a division of Caliber.

Roughly 40 to 50 percent of Citadel's production goes on its balance sheet.

Over the past few weeks, a handful of mortgage firms have announced acquisitions of smaller shops with an eye toward expanding their origination footprints or servicing portfolios. And investment banking advisors told Inside Mortgage Finance that between now and yearend, the mergers and acquisitions market should be brisk as owners of privately held companies finally head for the exits, realizing that when it comes to originations, 2015 likely won’t be much better than the current year. The largest nonbank to test the M&A market this year is...

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear cases in its coming term regarding guidance issued by the Department of Labor involving overtime pay for loan officers. Oral arguments are scheduled for Dec. 1, and a decision is expected by June. The cases are Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association and Nickols v. Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA has argued that the DOL didn’t follow rulemaking procedures in 2010 when the regulator withdrew guidance stating that loan officers could be exempt from overtime compensation requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Lenders have received...