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Inside Mortgage Finance

April 8, 2010

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Refinance Uptick Helps Bolster GSE Business Volume in 2010; HARP Sings a Little Louder

A modest increase in refinance activity helped offset a sharp decline in the securitization of purchase-money mortgages at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the first quarter of 2010. The two government-sponsored enterprises generated $208.92 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities during the first three months of this year... [Include three charts and one graph] Read More

Industry in ‘Shock’ After DOL Reverses Loan Officer Exemption from Overtime Pay

The financial services industry is regrouping and trying to come up with an appropriate response after the Department of Labor blindsided it with new guidance ending mortgage loan officers’ exemption from overtime pay. Issued March 24, the guidance reversed a long-standing DOL policy that treats mortgage loan officers as “administrative employees” exempt from overtime pay under the... Read More

FHA Eases Up on Net Worth Requirement, Sticks With Broker Rules in Final Rule

The Department of Housing and Urban Development shied away from immediately imposing strict new rules that require lenders to increase their net worth and brokers to be lender-sponsored. Concern expressed by mortgage industry groups during the agency’s comment period seems to have swayed the final rules announced this week.HUD originally proposed a hefty increase in net worth... Read More

Essent, MI Affiliates Get Green Light from GSEs to Provide Mortgage Insurance Only in Certain States

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have approved three new affiliates of existing approved mortgage insurers and announced newcomer Essent Guaranty’s eligibility to insure conventional first mortgages sold to the government-sponsored enterprises. The newly-approved affiliates include Republic Mortgage Insurance Company of North Carolina (RMIC NC); MGIC Indemnity Corp... Read More

Institutions Won’t be in Violation of Flood Insurance Law for Loans Made During Lapse in NFIP Authority

Financial institutions may originate mortgage loans without flood insurance while the National Flood Insurance Program is not available as long as they continue to comply with applicable federal regulations, according to federal regulators. Federal thrift and banking regulators have issued separate but similar guidance to assist lenders during the period in which the authority of... Read More

Homeowners View Defaulting on Their Mortgages More Favorably if They Know Someone Who Has

Americans are less inclined to view homeownership through rose-colored glasses after the 2008 collapse in the real estate market, according to a consumer survey released this week by Fannie Mae. And while many believe it is wrong to stop making their mortgage payments if they are underwater, pollsters found that homeowners who know someone who has already defaulted are twice as likely to... Read More

Inquiry Commission Investigates Subprime, GSE, Regulator Role in Housing Collapse

Efforts by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to shed light on problems in the mortgage industry were interrupted by a power outage on Capitol Hill during a hearing this week, as industry experts and former government officials played a dimly-lit blame game about the role of subprime loans and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve System Board... Read More

FHLBanks Overcome Plunge in Advance Business, Continued Non-Agency MBS, to Post More Profits

Despite the fact that the Federal Home Loan Banks saw their advance business fall off a cliff last year, they were still able to record bigger profits than in 2008. However, a good bit of the improvement was due to favorable accounting treatment for the losses associated with their non-agency mortgage-backed securities holdings, which remain a thorn in the side of a few of the banks... Read More

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