Finance

The trade group is now predicting $1.05 trillion of volume for this year as unemployment and tepid wage growth hold back homebuying.

The mortgage life support provided by the federal government since the crash is ebbing. It will be interesting to see if the industry can breathe on its own now.

The normally even-keeled moderate Sen. Mark Warner warned fellow Democrats voting against a housing finance reform that when Fannie and Freddie need another taxpayer bailout, it will be their fault.

Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee sounded off against bipartisan legislation to overhaul the mortgage finance system on Thursday, opposition that likely all but ruins the bill's chances of making it to the chamber floor this year.

As the market slows for post-downturn, private-label, residential mortgage-backed securities—known as RMBS 2.0—an industry group thinks it's time to start preparing for version 3.0.

The Senate Banking Committee passed major legislation to overhaul the housing finance system on Thursday.

The dim prospects for Congress doing anything to overhaul the system dominated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac leaves a host of big questions about what happens to the mortgage sector going forward.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley reiterated calls Wednesday for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer principal reductions to distressed borrowers and to participate in nonprofit home buyback programs.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's 10-year plan to build and preserve affordable housing units is credit neutral for New York City, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The government-sponsored enterprises just went a long way toward encouraging lenders to make more loans to borrowers with lower credit scores.

In a wide-ranging speech on Tuesday, new FHFA Director Mel Watt said he would not weigh in on the housing finance reform debate percolating in Congress, while also detailing what changes he plans to make at the agency, including encouraging more access to credit.

There will be enough grist for the NPL mill for at least three more years, industry insiders say.

Freddie Mac, which along with Fannie Mae has forced home lenders to buy back tens of billions of dollars of flawed mortgages, said the companies are loosening rules that made banks more cautious about extending credit.

The buyouts will lead to prepayments of 5% or more for some holders of mortgage-backed securities. The loans were originated from 2005 to 2008, the heyday of interest-only loans.

The Senate Banking Committee is said to be moving toward a vote on major housing finance reform legislation next week, but the effort is likely to attract no more than 13 votes, falling short of what would be needed to advance the bill to the Senate floor this year.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency released a new monthly credit report to monitor the performance of commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Six Democrats whose support is crucial to a U.S. Senate plan to replace government-owned mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have decided they won't support the proposal without major revisions, dimming its chances of becoming law this year.

The regulator's Office of the Inspector General says it should have issued formal guidance to Fannie and Freddie over their dealings with the MIs.

The government-sponsored enterprises remain profitable, but executives are raising fresh concerns about their ability to withstand a recession because of restrictions on raising capital.

Proposed reforms for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae seem to be bogged down in the House and Senate. It might be time for legislators to start thinking about different solutions.