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Inside Mortgage Finance

October 23, 2008

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Uncertainty, Blame, Pessimism and Protesters Surround MBA’s Somber Annual Convention

If the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association is a mood ring for the industry, the outlook for next year doesn’t look too bright. Even the most optimistic attendees at this week’s MBA convention in San Francisco did not predict a recovery for the mortgage market until 2010. Meanwhile, there was plenty of blame to go around, with Bush administration officials lashing... Read More

Agencies Move to Adjust High-Cost Loan Limits, Even as Advocates Push for New Changes

It was going to be hard enough to adjust to a sharp reduction in the maximum loan amounts eligible for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA programs in 2009, but declining house prices and faltering markets are driving many to call for new emergency changes in the next few months. Congress in February approved a temporary increase in agency mortgage limits of up to... Read More

Fannie, Freddie ‘Rethinking’ Pricing and Risk Policies as FHFA Works on New Capital Rules

The new CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac renewed pledges to take a long hard look at their underwriting requirements and pricing policies, but provided few specifics about the direction the government-sponsored enterprises are taking. “We’re totally open to revising and discarding practices, habits and traditions that we’ve had in the past,” said Herb Allison, the new CEO of Fannie, at... Read More

FHA Lending Sets New Record, ‘Countrywide’ Still Top Producer in Fragmented Market

FHA lending activity soared to a record $78.5 billion in the third quarter of 2008, according to preliminary estimates by Inside Mortgage Finance. The boom in FHA lending, up 60 percent from the second quarter of this year, comes at a time when other parts of the mortgage market have stalled. New securitization volume at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... [Includes one chart and one graph] Read More

HVPC Is Step in the Right Direction, But Appraisers Are Looking For More

Lenders may not like this summer’s controversial appraisal agreement between the government-sponsored enterprises, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and the New York attorney general, but appraisers say it’s a “step in the right direction.” Federal regulators have said they expect to release a somewhat revised version of the agreement in coming weeks, and suggested that... Read More

House GOP Asks DOJ to Investigate Role of Fannie, Freddie and CRA in Current Crisis

Partisan squabbling erupted in Congress this week after Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-AL, ranking minority member of the House Financial Services Committee, joined other House Republicans in asking the Department of Justice to investigate how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Community Reinvestment Act may have contributed to the current financial crisis. “At the center of the troubles in... Read More

HUD’s Montgomery Hints at Action on RESPA Within 2 Weeks, Final Rule Still Due This Year

Top officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development advised mortgage bankers to expect “something” to happen regarding the agency’s controversial overhaul of mortgage regulations under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention this week in San Francisco, HUD Assistant Secretary Brian... Read More

HUD Officials Caution that HOPE for Homeowners Will be Onerous for Lenders and Borrowers

Although interest in HOPE for Homeowners is running high, officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development aren’t sure how many lenders will participate in the program and lenders question how much business will get done under the tough standards mandated by Congress. At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention this week in San Francisco, FHA... Read More

Frank Favors ‘Select Committee’ to Study Regulatory Restructuring, Ease Impact of Mark-to-Market Accounting

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-MA, this week said he is open to the idea of creating a Congressional panel to explore regulatory restructuring in the financial services industry and to discuss fixes to minimize the impact of fair-value accounting. During a contentious hearing on reform of financial system regulation, Frank expressed support for a select committee to study ways to create a new supervisory system for the future to... Read More

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