Cart

Inside Mortgage Finance

January 7, 2010

View Archived Issues

GSE Mortgage Securities Business Hits 6-Year High in 2009 Despite Second-Half Slowdown

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2009 posted their biggest production numbers in six years despite operating as wards of the U.S. government. Fannie and Freddie generated a whopping $1.247 trillion of single-family mortgage-backed securities last year, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. That was up 39.3 percent from 2008 and was... [Includes three charts] Read More

Fannie, Freddie Get Breathing Room to Manage Their Portfolios as Treasury Escalates its Support

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have a little more flexibility in meeting long-range targets to shrink their retained mortgage portfolios under revised conservatorship terms that also allow the U.S. Treasury to keep the government-sponsored enterprises afloat even if their eventual losses exceed current estimates. Under the amended preferred stock purchase agreements announced in late... Read More

HUD, Fed Begin Exploratory Talks to Develop Single, Standardized Form for RESPA-TILA Disclosures

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Reserve Board are in talks over possible formats that can be used to unify and harmonize mandatory disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act. Officials at both agencies confirmed that staff representatives have met more than once in recent weeks to explore ways to develop... Read More

Mortgage Market Braces for Sharp Drop in Loan Production in 2010 as Rates Rise, FHA Tightens

A major drop in refinance volume due to rising mortgage rates paired with expected tightening at the FHA should cause a significant pullback in mortgage production volume in 2010. Mortgage rates are already on the rise, as Freddie Mac’s weekly survey rate hit 5.14 percent for 30-year fixed-rate loans, up from the 4.71 percent in December. Rates hovered around 4.80 percent... [Includes one chart] Read More

Industry Groups Urge Caution on Fed Proposal to Eliminate Rate-Based Loan Originator Compensation

Mortgage lenders are urging the Federal Reserve Board to proceed cautiously on a proposal to ban loan originator compensation based on loan terms or conditions and to make the rules sufficiently clear to avoid costly litigation and the hefty penalties under the Truth in Lending Act. Industry groups also called for a variety of practices to be excluded from the controversial proposal, which is... Read More

Servicers Continue Improving Modification Tactics, More Effective Mods to Come

Loan modification activity increased sharply in the third quarter of 2009, and the success, type and pace of industry-wide mod efforts are expected to increase into 2010, according to a new report released by two regulatory agencies. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision found that servicers implemented 680,153 new home... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results