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Inside Mortgage Finance

March 5, 2009

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Obama Administration Launches Ambitious Loan Mod Program With Some Details Still Missing

The Treasury Department this week released extensive details about its ambitious loan modification plan that will require a massive effort by the beleaguered mortgage industry to implement. The 17-page guidelines for the Home Affordable Modification program issued this week provide a lot of new guidance on the detailed incentives available for all parties in the loan modification and... Read More

GSEs Put Their Own Twists on Streamlined Refinance Program for Submerged Borrowers

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week launched streamlined refinance initiatives that are part of President Obama’s Housing Affordability and Stability Plan that reveal significant differences between the two rivals on risk-based pricing, appraisals and underwriting processes. A key component of HASP is the Home Affordable Refinance program through which loans held or... Read More

GSEs to Absorb Some Cost of Mortgage Recovery as Obama Steers Fannie and Freddie to Public Purpose

Fannie Mae revealed this week that the government-sponsored enterprises will pick up some of the Obama administration’s tab for trying to heal the mortgage market in a significant shift in strategy that all but abandons any hope of returning to profitability. After the GSEs were placed in conservatorship in September, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tried to balance the often... Read More

Servicers Report Pile-Up of Seriously Delinquent Mortgages as Foreclosures Are Put on Hold

Mortgage delinquency rates continued to climb during the fourth quarter of 2008, including huge increases in the most serious default categories, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance LargeServicer Delinquency Index. A record 8.50 percent of home mortgages were in default or somewhere in the foreclosure process as of the end of last year... [Includes two charts] Read More

Industry Tries to Win Concessions on Cramdown as the House Readies for Another Stab at Mortgage Legislation

The House of Representatives late this week is expected to resume work on legislation that includes a bankruptcy cramdown provision that could be made more palatable to the mortgage industry. Lawmakers last week were set to vote on H.R. 1106, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, which includes bankruptcy cramdown with changes to the FHA HOPE for Homeowners program and... Read More

Schumer, Durbin to Introduce Legislation Creating Federal Watchdog for Financial Products, Services

Senators Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Richard Durbin, D-IL, are planning to introduce legislation that would create a new federal regulator to protect consumers from excessively costly and predatory financial products and practices. Schumer announced his plan during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing called earlier this week by the committee’s chairman, Sen. Chris Dodd... Read More

Congress May Bolster FTC and State AGs in TILA Policing

Controversial provisions designed to strengthen enforcement of the Truth in Lending Act were included in omnibus appropriations legislation being debated by the Senate this week. Mortgage industry groups launched a hasty campaign to get the provisions, which had been introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, removed from the bill during Senate debate... Read More

Senate Judiciary Committee Takes on Mortgage Fraud with Increased Funds

The Senate Judiciary Committee late this week is expected to approve tougher standards to prevent mortgage fraud by non-bank lenders and boost enforcement capacity among regulators. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 introduced by committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-IA, early last month would alter federal criminal, securities, and... Read More

Obama Budget Broadly Boosts Housing, But Industry Groups Take Aim at Tax Issues

The Obama administration’s massive $3.6 trillion fiscal budget proposal drew criticism from the housing industry over its plan to reduce mortgage interest tax deductions for some high-income borrowers but cautious support for its backing of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The proposal released last week provides a bird’s-eye view of the administration’s housing... Read More

Consumer Advocates’ Study Warns of Increase in Mortgage Deficiency Filings

Cases of junk debt buyers suing for mortgage deficiency appear to be on the rise, subjecting homeowners who have already lost their homes to more penalties, a consumer advocacy group has warned. While there are not enough hard data to track such cases, the National Consumer Law Center said anecdotal evidence suggests an increasing number of mortgage holders pursuing “deficiency judgment” claims... Read More

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