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Inside Mortgage Finance

January 6, 2006

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Proposed Guidance on Nontraditional Loans Many Be Tougher than it Looks, Experts Say

The mortgage industry is apprehensive about guidance proposed by federal thrift and banking regulators in the waning days of 2005 in an attempt to inject sobriety into a mortgage market that went gaga over nontraditional lending last year. In fact, some experts suggest it could be the start of a regulatory crackdown on such loans. … Read More

HUD Hits ABN AMRO with Record FHA Settlement After Uncovering Widespread Processing Errors

At a time when the Bush administration has been trying to restore the FHA’s diminished stature in the marketplace, the government this week slammed a major lender with a record $41 million settlement that could chill industry enthusiasm for the program. ABN AMRO, which has a relatively modest presence in the FHA market, will pay the government $16.85 million in cash and waive an estimated $24.35 million in insurance claims for 738 defaulted FHA… Read More

Mortgage Sales to Fannie and Freddie Slow In 4Q05; Megalenders Dominate Market

Mortgage deliveries into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities pools slowed measurably in the fourth quarter, with Fannie taking the biggest downturn, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. Fannie Mae issued $122.49 billion of new single-family MBS during the fourth quarter, a sharp 21 percent drop from the previous period, the analysis shows. The government-sponsored enterprise continued to rely heavily on its top lender customers for new product: a… Read More

MBA Airs Concerns About New Model Standards on Servicers’ Contractual Responsibilities, Liabilities

Sweeping new disclosure rules for the booming non-agency MBS market are forcing mortgage lenders to seek changes that will better balance the needs of servicers and securities issuers in new model standards for loan purchase and servicing agreements. The American Securitization Forum last month issued model loan purchase and servicing standards developed to help the securities business comply with Regulation AB, a new rule concocted by the Securities and Exchange Commission that covers all non-agency… Read More

FHA Announces Updated High Cost Loan Limits for 2006

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has revised its high cost adjustments for maximum FHA loan amounts in 2006, identifying some 87 counties where the maximum $362,790 FHA loan amount can now be made. Most of the areas getting the highest cost designation are in California, greater New York, the Washington, DC, market and areas near Boston. The new single-family ceiling is 15.9 percent higher than last year’s limit of $312,895. FHA’s mortgage limits… Read More

Reactions Mixed to Fannie Mae’s Decision to Lower Minimum Servicing Fee for TBA Pools

With the issue of minimum servicing fees for agency MBS still simmering, Fannie Mae last month lowered its minimum fee requirement for servicing certain adjustable-rate mortgages – a move that elicited mixed reactions from the mortgage banking industry and Wall Street. Fannie on Dec. 15 lowered the minimum servicing fee for most first-lien conventional ARMs to 25 basis points from 37.5 bps. The change now matches the minimum servicing fee for standard 30-year fixed-rate… Read More

Ginnie Mae Issuance Slumps in 2005; Big Three Account for Half the Market

New production of Ginnie Mae mortgage securities tumbled in 2005, dropping by 31 percent from the previous year, according to a new ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. A total of $85.85 billion of Ginnie Mae pass-through securities were issued last year, down from $124.75 billion in 2004. That was the lowest annual output since 1995, the last time the Ginnie program produced less than $100 billion in a calendar year. … Read More

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