Finance

Fannie Mae, risk sharing, private capital, reinsurers.

State housing finance authorities will deleverage their bond programs, build equity and improve financial ratios, according to Fitch Ratings.

Funding for housing counseling represents a minuscule fraction of total spending on housing-related initiatives. Still, some question whether taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck.

Consumers were more optimistic about their ability to buy a home in November compared to the previous month, according to Fannie Mae.

Mel Watt, down payment, homeownership, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA

Fannie said it will immediately begin accepting applications for fixed-rate 97% loan-to-value financing of borrowers with FICO scores as low as 620. Freddie, meanwhile, took a more cautious approach, delaying the start of the program, requiring credit counseling, and in some cases only allowing FICO scores as low as 660.

With some proposals still outstanding, mortgage bond market participants are concerned that eminent domain attempts would spread if a municipality makes inroads with a proposal.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have set terms for letting borrowers put down as little as 3% of a home's cost to get mortgages, a step criticized by Republican lawmakers as a return to risky lending.

Officials at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae all heaped praise on nonbank mortgage lenders for stepping up to provide loans for home purchases at a time when many banks have scaled back.

Starwood Waypoint Priced its first securitization of single-family rental property, a $505 million deal backed by some of the oldest homes in this emerging asset class.

Investors should buy Assured Guaranty shares on the prospect that the bond insurer acquires a unit from mortgage guarantor Radian Group, analysts from Macquarie Group said.

Six years after a global financial crisis exacerbated by the lack of transparency in the market for U.S. mortgage debt, regulators are planning only a small step toward offering the public more information on trading.

It is critical for all originators to have a vendor management plan to mitigate their risk and to comply with state, federal and local laws.

Profits from originating mortgages dipped during the third quarter, with independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of banks reporting an average gain of $897, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In the nascent bond market where U.S. government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have insured themselves against losses on $383 billion of home loans, strains are starting to emerge.

The Federal Housing Finance Administration has advised private mortgage insurers that it will delay the release of revised capital standards.

A controversial legal theory on discrimination threatens to disrupt consumer lending and poses a potential liability for anyone securitizing these loans.

From Biblical times to the present, fraud has been the key factor in all financial crises. But there is one financial instrument that, if used correctly, can bring equilibrium to fraud-impacted markets.