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Inside Mortgage Finance

January 12, 2007

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GSEs Still Buying Interest-Only Loans as Controversial Regulatory Guidance is Announced in Late 2006

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to guarantee a significant volume of interest-only mortgages in late 2006 as the industry wrestled with tough new underwriting standards and consumer disclosure guidelines handed down from federal regulators... [Includes two charts] Read More

Loan Limits Remain Key Obstacle in Reaching Compromise on GSE Reform Legislation

While the Bush administration and key Democrats in the House have reportedly narrowed the gap in their views on legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises, proposed increases in conforming loan limits remain unresolved and industry critics may... Read More

Fannie Drops the Price on IO Fixed-Rate Loans With LTVs Greater than 90 Percent

Fannie Mae is expanding the range of mortgage products it will buy with interest-only payment plans, and dropping its prices for certain of these loans that formerly went by the InterestFirst brand. The government-sponsored enterprise also tightened the underwriting standards for IO loans, bringing its requirements in line with controversial guidelines issued by… Read More

FHA Names 32 New Counties to List of Highest Cost Markets in 2007

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has identified a number of markets in California, Maryland and Washington that merit the highest $362,790 FHA loan limit for 2007, even though FHA loan limits themselves remained unchanged this year... Read More

Freddie Reports Rare Quarterly Loss, Another Expected, Thanks to Interest Rate Fluctuations, Market Valuations

Fluctuating interest rates combined with market value accounting to force Freddie Mac to report a rare loss during the third quarter, reflecting a trend likely to be repeated in the future. In a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Freddie Chairman and CEO Dick Syron indicated the government-sponsored enterprise could report a similar loss for... Read More

Study Sees Basel II Banks Outgunning GSEs, Competitors; Little Direct Impact Seen on Mortgage Bankers, Affiliates

The Basel II capital standards are likely to give the largest U.S. banks a new edge over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But the rules would have little impact on most mortgage bankers and mortgage affiliates. These were the findings of a study commissioned by the Mortgage Bankers Association and released this week to gauge the impact of the new Basel II standards on competition within the U.S. resi-dential mortgage market. The standards were designed… Read More

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