With interest rates rising, investors want higher premiums on credit-risk transfers. And that makes the transactions less economically appealing for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Includes data chart.)

The Federal Reserve hiked rates by another 75 basis points. But Chair Jerome Powell said the time to begin selling the Fed’s MBS holdings “is not close.”

Note: Fannie and Freddie have been steadily profitable for a decade now.

After years of court maneuvers, the most prominent of the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac shareholder lawsuits finally went to trial. Now it’s in the hands of a jury.

When it comes to the future of the FHLBs, the Council is a traditionalist...

Loan modification is easy when interest rates are low, but what does foreclosure mitigation look like when rates soar?

MBA's finding on origination losses wasn't exactly a surprise...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will eliminate certain upfront loan-level price adjustments while implementing “targeted” increases for most cash-out refinance transactions. The agency also approved two new credit scoring models for Fannie and Freddie.

Plunging margins since the third quarter of 2020 have driven net profits for originations down about 210 basis points, according to MBA economists.

Even if the scores provide a similar measure of credit risk at one point in time, that equivalency could deteriorate...