Fairholme is scheduled to talk about its investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...

Fannie Mae General Counsel Brian Brooks is rumored to be up for a top post at the Treasury Department, a development that if consummated would add yet another seasoned industry veteran familiar with the government-sponsored enterprises to the agency. What that might mean for “administrative” reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is another question. As Inside MBS & ABS went to press this week, Brooks – who joined Fannie from OneWest Bank in November 2014 – had not been...

Former Ginnie Mae president Ted Tozer stressed the importance of getting the post filled as soon as possible. “The way things are going, by yearend Ginnie will have $2 trillion of guarantees on its books,” he said.

The betting is that Bruce Berkowitz and Fairholme plan to ride out their GSE investment to the very end.

Profit margins and net income fell sharply in the mortgage banking business during early 2017, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. On average, firms participating in the MBA’s quarterly performance report earned just $886,000 in pretax income during the first quarter, a hefty 74.8 percent drop from the previous period. Only about two firms in three (67.0 percent) managed to report net pretax income for the first three months of the year. The industry funded...

The spring and summer home-buying season is in full throttle and with rates falling to yearly lows, mortgage bankers should be hiring in droves. Right? Not necessarily. Top-ranked lenders such as Quicken Loans and Movement Mortgage report they continue to search for new talent, but others are being careful about their hiring plans. Employment in the mortgage brokerage sector has been...

During his confirmation hearing in March, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said he favored raising the exemption threshold but only up to $33,000.

Unfortunately, Rood said he’s not at liberty to name names or agencies...

It certainly seems like the Financial Services Roundtable wants to be a key player in GSE reform...

The Trump administration plans to issue a request for information (RFI) regarding a Department of Labor final rule currently on hold that would raise the annual salary threshold for employee exemption from overtime pay. Testifying before the House Committee on Appropriations last week, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said the proposed RFI would seek public comment regarding the economic or anticipated impact of raising the annual salary requirement for overtime exemption from the current $23,660 to $47,476, as the previous administration had proposed. The Obama administration issued...