Cart

Inside Mortgage Finance

June 24, 2010

View Archived Issues

Consumer Protection Agency Closer to Fruition as House-Senate Conferees Try to Speed Up Negotiations

Regulatory reform legislation conferees this week moved closer toward an agreement on key provisions as Senate negotiators accepted a number of House offers on consumer protection and made counteroffers on mortgage reform and risk retention. House Conference Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-MA, began the third day of the conference by underscoring the importance of completing... Read More

Home-Equity Market Still Slumbering in 2010 As Most Top Lenders Continue Pulling Back

Home-equity lending drifted to historically low levels in early 2010 as banks, thrifts and credit unions continued to shrink their retained portfolios and pare down unfunded commitments. Depository institutions held $917.56 billion in home-equity loans as of the end of March, down 1.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the... [Includes two charts] Read More

Fewer HAMP Trials, Permanent Modifications Started in May as Cancellations Spike Higher

The Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program saw a marked decline in new trial modifications offered and started in May, while increasing numbers of homeowners were washed out of the program. Only 19,424 new HAMP trials were offered to borrowers in May, a 62 percent decline from the previous month and – by far – the lowest monthly number of the year... [Includes one chart] Read More

Freddie Mac Exec Tells Lenders What Prompts Its Repurchase Demands and How to Avoid Them

Faulty verification documents and inaccurate appraisals are major causes for lenders to be asked to repurchase mortgages from Freddie Mac, according to an official at the government-sponsored enterprise who participated in an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar this week. Among the top deficiencies discovered in reviews of non-performing loans (NPL) completed in the... Read More

Immediate Outlook for Home-Purchase Mortgage Market Appears Cloudy, New Research Suggests

With refinance originations expected to decline – perhaps sharply – this year, mortgage lenders have been looking to the home-purchase market to generate an increasing share of mortgage activity in the months ahead. But hopes that a flurry of home sales this summer might bring in a big jump in purchase-mortgage originations may now be fading. According to the latest... Read More

Federal Regulators to Update CRA, HMDA Rules, Summer Public Hearings Scheduled in Major Cities

Federal banking agencies are planning to conduct separate public hearings on the Community Reinvestment Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to determine whether current regulations are working as intended and what changes might be needed. Four public hearings are slated for CRA and an equal number for HMDA over the summer in major cities to gather information from various... Read More

Fannie Gets Tough on ‘Strategic Defaulters,’ Will GSE Exist Long Enough to Enforce It?

Fannie Mae this week said it won’t purchase mortgages made to borrowers who deliberately defaulted on a previous loan or failed to work with their servicer to mitigate foreclosure losses. The government-sponsored enterprise also said that it will be more aggressive in pursuing deficiency judgments against borrowers who “strategically” default on their loans in jurisdictions that... 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