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Inside Mortgage Finance

October 27, 2016

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Mortgage Originations Hit Estimated $580 Billion In 3Q16, Nonbanks Claim Over Half the Market

The U.S. mortgage market produced an estimated $580.0 billion of first-lien originations during the third quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. That was up 13.7 percent from the second quarter, and it marked the strongest origination cycle since the fourth quarter of 2012, when $584.0 billion of new loans flowed through the pipes. The robust third quarter brought year-to-date originations to $1.470 trillion, up 8.9 percent from the first nine months of 2015. Lender feedback and agency mortgage-backed securities data suggest...[Includes two data tables] Read More

GSEs Push Verification Services, Expect More Focus on Affordable Housing Programs in 2017

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac featured new technologies aimed at streamlining the loan production process and further limiting lender repurchase risk during this week’s annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association in Boston. Top officials of the two government-sponsored enterprises said that 2017 will bring further efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities, a theme underscored by their chief regulator. Melvin Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said... Read More

Cordray Details TRID Exams

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said agency examiners are conducting “transaction testing” to assess compliance with new TRID disclosure rules. Looking at loan files is necessary to a diagnostic compliance assessment, he told a good-sized audience at this week’s annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association. The bureau chief repeated earlier assertions that TRID compliance reviews would be “diagnostic and corrective, not punitive.” Cordray said... Read More

Will Ginnie’s New ‘Acknowledgement Agreement’ Bring Relief to Nonbanks, Financiers and the Agency Itself?

Late this week or early next, Ginnie Mae is expected to release a new and improved acknowledgement agreement, a move intended to allow nonbanks to borrow more easily against the asset value of their mortgage servicing rights. But the big question remains: Will the agency’s tweaks have much of an impact on liquidity? There is... Read More

Appraiser Shortage Continues to Delay Loan Closings In Market With Strong Purchase-Mortgage Demand

The share of home sales that experienced a delayed closing because of appraisal-related issues remained elevated in September, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Industry participants suggest that the strong market for purchase mortgages has led to a backlog of appraisals. Appraisal issues accounted... Read More

Fannie, Freddie Endorse Aspects of TRID That Foster Support of Their Uniform Closing Dataset

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a joint comment letter addressing the bureau’s TRID clarifying rulemaking that have to do with the government-sponsored enterprises’ Uniform Closing Dataset, supporting some provisions and opposing others. The UCD is the data standard the pair developed to support accurate disclosures on the closing disclosure and to facilitate the sharing of that information. “The GSEs believe... Read More

Genworth’s MI Division Could See Boost in Ratings as a Result of Firm’s Sale to Chinese Financial Conglomerate

An agreement by a Chinese international financial holding group to acquire Genworth Financial for approximately $2.7 billion, or $5.43 per share, would give China a foothold in the U.S. mortgage insurance market. Announced on Oct. 23 by Genworth, the sale follows the planned sale of market leader United Guaranty to Arch Capital Group, a global provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance based in Bermuda. The entire Genworth family of companies, including the MI division, is... Read More

CBO Lays Out GSE Recap Scenario, Touts Benefits to Mortgage Market, Federal Budget

Recapitalizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a good idea, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which said that it wouldn’t significantly change how the government-sponsored enterprises operate today, but it would help stabilize the mortgage market and the federal budget. In response to several legislative proposals calling for the GSEs to build capital, the CBO recently published a report studying the effects of an “illustrative policy option.” Fannie and Freddie capital will... Read More

IRS Postpones Revisions to Tax Transcript Process After Industry Groups Escalate Their Opposition

The Internal Revenue Service has decided to hold off on making changes to its Secure Access Program, which governs the process by which federal tax transcripts are provided to the mortgage industry, after industry trade groups objected. The changes, part of an effort by the agency to better protect taxpayer data as well as IRS systems from attacks by cybercriminals, had been scheduled to kick in at the start of this week. “To ensure a smooth transition, the IRS has decided... Read More

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