While the Treasury and FHFA said the 7% cap was “aligned with the current levels” of acquisitions by the GSEs, some analysts believe the loans have accounted for somewhat more than 7% of purchases by Fannie and Freddie each year since 2013.
“March 31 servicing marks were up significantly from where they were at Dec. 31,” said George Christo, executive vice president of The Prestwick Group.
Both companies — wards of the federal government since the fall of 2008 — have benefitted from record originations, which in turn have juiced secondary market transactions, and subsequently their profits.
The upfront MIP is 175 bps of the base loan amount on a 30-year fixed-rate FHA single-family loan. Most FHA borrowers pay an annual MIP of 85 bps for the full life of the loan.
The top three home lenders in the first quarter: Quicken Loans, PennyMac Financial Services and Wells Fargo. UWM and Freedom Mortgage were a close fourth and fifth, respectively.