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Inside Mortgage Finance

July 1, 2009

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SCOTUS Upholds State Authority to Enforce Anti-Discrimination Laws Against U.S. Banks

The U.S. Supreme Court this week surprised the mortgage lending industry by ruling that a state attorney general can enforce certain anti-discrimination laws against national banks and their operating subsidiaries, even though the state may not have supervisory powers over these entities. Under the SCOTUS’ opinion, a state AG could not send a letter threatening action for noncompliance... Read More

Industry Eyes Moratorium on GSE Appraisal Code, Effort Unlikely to Blunt Effects of GSE Directives

Members of Congress sympathetic to the mortgage and real estate industries have introduced legislation that would impose an 18-month moratorium on the controversial Home Valuation Code of Conduct that went into effect May 1, while some industry groups are pressing the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for a similar course of action. Late last week, Reps. Travis Childers... Read More

Loss Mitigation Options Abound, but Second Liens And Other Hurdles Still Obstruct HAMP, H4H

Major government efforts to ramp up loss mitigation efforts have created a myriad of new options for servicers, but industry experts say the impact has been dulled by the trickle of detailed program guidance and a lack of clarity. The Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program is the most significant loss mitigation initiative so far, said Don Lampe, a partner... Read More

Distressed Property Sales Surge to Two-Thirds Of Market, New IMF-Sponsored Study Finds

This year’s deepening mortgage default situation is flooding the housing market with distressed property sales. According to preliminary results contained in a new study sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance, nearly two-thirds of transactions in the home purchase market now involve some sort of distressed property. Additionally, the new research... [Includes one graph] Read More

Agencies Issue Interim Risk-Weighting Rule for Mortgages Modified Under MHAP

Federal thrift and banking regulators are seeking comment on an interim final rule that would allow mortgage loans modified under the government’s Making Home Affordable Program to retain their pre-modification risk weights. The agencies believe that addressing the risk-based capital treatment of mortgages modified under the MHAP now will facilitate... Read More

GSEs Continue to Tweak Home Affordable Refi Programs as Refi Surge Lifts MBS Production

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to fine-tune their streamlined refinance programs designed for borrowers with equity deficiencies, even as a landslide of refi business poured through the secondary market in the second quarter. Fannie recently expanded the range of potential borrowers who can take advantage of its Refi Plus program, while Freddie formally rolled out... Read More

Missing, Inaccurate Data Force CitiMortgage to Suspend Correspondent Lending Operations

CitiMortgage stopped accepting new loans through its correspondent lending division last week after a review of loan files found some appraisal and income-verification documents to be missing, sources indicated. Citi was the fourth-largest overall lender in the first quarter of 2009, and its correspondent division also ranked fourth, churning out $17.31 billion in... Read More

Big Three Dominate Direct Originations in Early 2009, But Mortgage Market Remains Fragmented

Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase Home Finance were the dominant forces in the home loan business in early 2009, but a still solid correspondent market left plenty of room for other lenders to find their niche. The big three in mortgage originations accounted for over half (52.0 percent) of total production during the first quarter of this year, but their... [Includes two charts] Read More

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