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Inside Mortgage Finance

July 3, 2014

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FHFA Readies Capital Rules for Mortgage Insurers; Parent Companies May Have to Put Assets Into Subs

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will soon unveil capital rules for private mortgage insurers, introducing a risk-based standard based on loan-to-value ratios and other factors, while requiring parent companies to pledge assets to their MI subsidiaries if necessary, according to officials close to the matter. “Financial strength will be measured by comparing insured risk, on a risk-adjusted basis, against available assets,” said one official commenting under the condition he not be identified. The phrase “available assets” is key because it portends that liquidity must reside at the MI level and not at an affiliate of a parent company. It’s... Read More

GSE Business Rebounds in Second Quarter As Purchase-Mortgage Sector Gains Strength

The anxiously-awaited Spring surge in purchase-mortgage lending finally arrived at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during recent months, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis of loan-level data from the two government-sponsored enterprises. The two GSEs issued $141.83 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter, an encouraging 9.8 percent increase from the dreary levels recorded in the first three months of 2014. During the first quarter of this year, Fannie/Freddie MBS production set a 14-year low of just $129.21 billion. Clearly, the market isn’t...[Includes three data charts] Read More

FHFA-OIG Report Cites Risks to Fannie, Freddie From Nonbank Servicers Using Short-Term Financing

The Federal Housing Finance Agency agreed to provide guidance to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on how to manage the risks arising from their work with nonbank special servicers, the FHFA’s Office of Inspector General said in a report issued this week. The OIG said the FHFA and the government-sponsored enterprises “have responded well to specific problems at nonbank special servicers.” However, it said the FHFA “has not established a risk management process or overall oversight framework to handle some general risks” such servicers pose. The report cites... Read More

Struggling Origination Market Causes Another Market To Stall: Initial Public Offerings of Mortgage Companies

Mortgage companies that were hoping to launch initial public offerings this year are putting their plans on hold these days thanks to a weak origination market, according to investment bankers and stock analysts who follow the industry. “It’s deader than a doornail,” said Paul Miller, a senior analyst with FBR Capital Markets. According to Miller, who tracks publicly traded mortgage companies such as Nationstar Mortgage, PHH Corp., and Walter Investment Management, the origination market has... Read More

The Basics Still Count in RESPA Compliance, Even As the CFPB Pursues Some Creative Legal Theories

Any respite the mortgage industry had from enforcement actions under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is over. If there’s one overarching theme about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s vigorous RESPA activity of late, it’s that the basics still count when it comes to compliance, even as the bureau pushes the theoretical envelope in some instances, top industry attorneys say. “RESPA Section 8 enforcement is back. It was in abeyance during the transition of RESPA enforcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the CFPB over the last few years,” said attorney Angela Kleine, an associate in the San Francisco office of the Morrison & Foerster law firm. “But the CFPB is picking up where HUD left off, and then some.” Kleine said... Read More

With Loss Mitigation Actions Declining for Banks and Nonbanks, HAMP Extended

Loss mitigation activity continued to decline in the first quarter of 2014, driven by better loan performance. That didn’t stop the Treasury Department from extending the Home Affordable Modification Program and related loss mitigation programs for at least another year, through the end of 2016. A total of 132,783 loan modifications were completed in the first quarter, according to Hope Now, down 3.4 percent from the previous quarter and down 45.7 percent from the first quarter of 2013. On a monthly basis, loan mod activity continued to decline in April. Loan mod activity is... Read More

House to Push Permanent PMI Tax Break Bill While Senate ‘Extender’ Legislation Stalled Until Elections

Look for the Republican-controlled House this month to push additional “tax extender” legislation, including a measure to make permanent a tax break for private mortgage insurance, although the Senate will likely defer any action on tax bills stalled until after the November elections. More than six months after a series of tax incentives, including some mortgage-related measures, expired due to Congressional inaction, partisan sniping and a distinct difference in the legislative approaches of House and Senate tax-writing chairmen has contributed to uncertainty within the industry. House, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-MI, has taken... Read More

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