Fannie Mae

The government sponsored enterprise’s latest forecast calls for a nearly $4 trillion year for 2021.

Vaccinations and a third round of stimulus payments are boosting consumers views on the housing market, according to Fannie Mae.

Also: Fannie sets early limits, servicing retention rates fade to record lows and loan broker inquiries rise as competition heats up.

After a booming 2020, more mortgage lenders than ever before expect diminishing margins in the coming months as climbing interest rates set up heightened competition.

Some applaud the agency's recent delay of the mandatory compliance date for a new Qualified Mortgage standard. Others say it leads to more uncertainty for lenders, opens the door to additional changes and enables some companies to loosen their underwriting.

The agency issued a proposal moving the compliance date for the Qualified Mortgage rule revamp to October 2022.

While its net income declined annually for the second consecutive year, CEO Hugh Frater touted Fannie Mae’s resiliency in a record year for providing mortgage liquidity.

The former president and CEO of GE Capital’s restructuring and strategic ventures group was named executive vice president and chief risk officer soon after the departure of Fannie EVP Andrew Bon Salle.

The Biden administration could encourage the FHFA to increase the caps or restore exclusions for certain types of loans, which would boost overall volumes.

Despite mortgage rates expected to rise modestly in 2021, a bolstered Biden administration stimulus package and COVID-19 vaccination efforts bring promise for economic recovery.

Changes in rules related to repayment options and refinancing criteria have complicated servicers’ lives, but otherwise this crisis hasn’t been as bad as that of 2008, a Fannie Mae survey finds.

Bon Salle joins Home Point as the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based nonbank mortgage lender plans to go public.

The agency's request for input will shape how mortgages underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac handle appraisals and curb risk.

The proposal would require the government-sponsored enterprises to craft resolution plans similar to regulations imposed on the largest U.S. banks.

With coronavirus inoculations underway and government stimulus likely to come, the outlook for next year’s housing market and lending environment grew more optimistic in December.

Many have assumed the high court would rule that presidents can fire the Federal Housing Finance Agency director at will. But during oral arguments in a case challenging the agency’s structure, some justices suggested they could stop short of such a decision.

The average per-loan profit margin remains incredibly strong, but the share of senior executives expecting it to fall has risen markedly.

Fannie hasn't completed any credit risk transfers to private investors since the second quarter. Some experts worry the decision — likely spurred by the company’s concerns about a recent capital regulation — could put the mortgage giant on unsteady footing.

President Trump is running out of time to do what hedge funds and other investment firms with big ownership stakes in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have wanted since he took office: put the mortgage giants on a path to exiting government control.

The Mortgage Bankers Association sees rates rising over the next two years, while Fannie Mae expects the average to remain under 3%.