Christopher Whalen

Republican control of the House of Representatives means that CFPB could be sidelined for years, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors

If rights holders have to sell these assets because of the Ginnie Mae capital rule, it will increase rates for lower income consumers.

As the MBA meets in Nashville, many IMBs will be looking for buyers or wondering whether to turn off the lights entirely and go home, writes the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

The Fed may be the big factor in the massive fluctuations seen daily in the TBA markets, but traders and credit analysts now also fear a new problem in the heretofore peaceful world of Ginnie Mae, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

"To talk about 95% of issuers by count being compliant without recognizing that a very large number of issuers hold few MSRs is disingenuous," one industry executive told the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Ginnie Mae has constructed a perfectly counter-cyclical capital regime that would crush the government loan market if left unaltered, the chair of Whalen Global Advisors writes.

A significant divergence between the FHFA and the Ginnie Mae issuer rules could greatly disrupt the secondary market — and that is precisely the outcome that now faces the mortgage industry, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

The Fed's tests have become a menacing countercyclical force that could further drive down liquidity in the mortgage market over the next year, the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors writes.

Unlike two years ago, when the surge of refinance loans created a vast pool of free financing for the industry to use, today lenders must pay for it by the drink.

At the Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary Conference this week, issuers noted their concern about rising delinquency levels, accusations of racial bias in lending, and whether regulators in Albany and Washington are preparing a new campaign against “abuses” in mortgage servicing, the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors writes.