Finance

The nation's new housing commissioner has a message for the mortgage industry: FHA insurance guarantees are falling - and that's a good thing.

Mortgage applications declined by almost 5% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Feb. 17, as refinancings declined and rates on fixed-rate loans began to increase, according to figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to make GSE loan buyback policies more transparent, eliminating uncertainty in the secondary market while encouraging lenders to fund new loans.

New final IRS/Treasury regulations defining the source of income from qualified "fails" expands the scope of a temporary regulation related to Treasury fails to agency mortgage-backed securities and debt.

United Guaranty Corp., Greensboro, N.C., the nation's third largest mortgage insurer, Tuesday named Kim Garland to be the firm's new president and CEO.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is determined to continue its mission of shrinking the balance sheets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and plans only to add product when the two need to buy delinquent mortgages out of delinquent MBS pools.

All of the major mortgage industry economists are predicting that 2012 will see a decline in originations from 2011. Yet, instead of retrenching, several organizations are predicting increased volume and acting upon that by expanding their retail branch networks.

First things first: Yes, I can live on $500,000. Heck, I can live on $250,000 a year. Would I like to run Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage giant? Answer: Sure, why not? But first I have a few stipulations.

The Wilbur Ross controlled American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., Coppell, Texas, has a new name: Homeward Residential to go along with its master plan to become a full service mortgage banking firm.

Mortgage technology and service provider Altisource reported net income of $26 million for the fourth quarter and earnings of $71 million for the full year.

The House and Senate on Friday passed a $150 billion bill that extends a payroll tax reduction and unemployment benefits for 10 months without increasing guarantee fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.

Recently, we called a trader of nonperforming loans who said quickly, "Can't talk right now. Way too busy." Later on we finally spoke and the message delivered was quite clear: the market for underperforming and nonperforming mortgages appears to be gathering steam.

A search firm trying to find a new CEO for Fannie Mae is asking candidates this very basic question: Can you live on $500,000 a year?

Fannie Mae's second multifamily DUS REMIC of the year drew several new investors that one of its executives said were attracted by the deal's relatively strong debt-service coverage ratio, LTV and diversified collateral pool.

A proposal to hike guarantee fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for the second time in two months was floated Wednesday night during negotiations over a $150 billion bill that would extend the payroll tax deduction and unemployment benefits.

Fannie Mae is considering the head of a banking industry trade group and its own general counsel as possible replacements for departing CEO Michael Williams, according to published reports.

Nationstar Mortgage, the nation's 11th largest servicer, is in talks to buy all or parts of Aurora Loan Services, according to industry advisors close to the situation.

Politicians - including those in the White House - continue to jawbone about how the private sector needs to step up and create a whole new securitization market that some day will replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This effort - supposedly - starts with the safest non GSE product out there: jumbo loans where well-heeled borrowers put down (say) 10% and are so filthy rich that their chance of default is next to nil.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions stressed the importance of maintaining a viable secondary market for mortgages in a letter to the Treasury, responding to the latter's recent signals that it is preparing to take up the issue of government-sponsored enterprise reform again.

A mortgage banking firm specializing in VA loans is trying to sell $4.5 billion of GNMA-backed mortgage servicing rights through Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver.