Loans in the new MBS have seasoned for an average of 5.4 months.

Lenders were particularly happy about the increases in FHA’s budget.

In late December, Ginnie seized HECM servicing from Reverse Mortgage Funding, which had recently filed for bankruptcy. Other HECM servicers are also facing liquidity pressure, according to industry analysts.

With lenders pushing mortgages that include a temporary buydown feature, MBS investors are pondering prepayment behavior for the loans. Expect loans with temporary buydowns to exhibit prepayment speeds similar to ARMs, according to an industry analyst.

Fees associated with MBS trades and other services provided by the Fixed Income Clearing Corp. increased Jan. 1. The FICC said the fee hike was necessary due to lower revenues and higher expenses.

Ginnie’s budget increases for FY 2023; Ginnie senior vice president found to have violated the Code of Federal Relations; Ginnie aligns eNote standards with GSEs; industry-driven FHA loss-mitigation proposals include some potential changes to Ginnie’s standards.

In the lame duck session, Congress managed to pass a spending bill with funding for FHA IT modernization. A separate bill updating standards for VA appraisals also made it to President Biden’s desk.

Divided leadership in Congress means bipartisanship will be required to get bills to President Biden’s desk. Not many mortgage-related bills are expected to make it that far in the next two years.

MBA's Killmer believes the lower chamber will be reactive, rather than proactive, on housing issues...

In a nutshell, the problem is margin compression, not credit...