Pointing to unemployment rates that reached 14.7% in April, and a 7.3% decline in consumer expenditures in March, FHFA is simply acknowledging the obvious: The U.S. economy has entered a recession of unprecedented depth and unknown duration.
Although the FHLBanks market themselves as local lenders, this image doesn’t match their operations. Ten of the nation’s largest commercial banks account for about 30% of FHLBank advances.
When panic first set in over the economic impact of COVID-19, investors sold off historically large volumes of MBS and Treasuries. As a result, liquidity and pricing efficiency both took a beating. It was the Fed’s gluttonous appetite for these securities that brought markets off the cliff.
The economic effects of the pandemic have slowed refi activity for investment properties. That, in turn, has dampened prepayment speeds for 100% investment-property pools, Wells Fargo Securities said.
Thanks to a booming origination market, Fannie and Freddie posted strong earnings for the second quarter despite the economic carnage caused by the pandemic. Their capital positions also improved.
The “implied guarantee subsidy” that underpins the FHLBank operations is the reason why financial institutions of all kinds are clamoring for membership, according to former Freddie CEO Don Layton.
Fannie Chief Financial Officer Celeste Brown credited the recently adapted current expected credit loss (CECL) standard for the improved showing because the mortgage giant now looks at lifetime losses whereas before it would have just looked ahead two years.
According to the S-1 initial public offering documents filed with the SEC, Rocket’s total share count (public and private) is roughly 1.9858 billion shares. At $22 a unit (the upper end of the range) that works out to a cool $43.69 billion. In short: Wow.
The added cost associated with servicing a mortgage in forbearance gives servicers an incentive “not to follow the mandates of the CARES Act and implementing guidance,” investigators said.