Experts say financial incentives and public indifference contribute to the prevalence of occupancy fraud, but that the difficulty of proving intent limits prosecutions.
FHFA established a new policy — that no GSE servicer should have a market share exceeding 20% — when it authorized Fannie and Freddie to continue doing business with the combined entity that will be formed following Rocket Companies’ planned acquisition of Mr. Cooper Group.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, under the leadership of Bill Pulte, has made at least three criminal referrals to the DOJ about mortgage fraud, involving two Democrats.
“Today, that value is worth anywhere between $500 billion and $700 billion,” said FHFA Director Bill Pulte. “I think it’s going to be a $1 trillion, and potentially even higher.”
Profitability declined at all but two of the FHLBanks in the second quarter. In some cases, that was due to lower net interest income and in others to a surge in voluntary contributions to housing and community investments. (Includes three data tables.)
Stress tests show that, even under scenarios considerably worse that the 2008 financial crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would likely remain profitable and continue to support the mortgage market.