Finance

My inbox was slammed by emails from readers who said "right on" to my commentary that the White House is (wrongly) using mortgage brokers as a whipping boy for the mortgage crisis. But some larger questions still loom: Does this White House even know what a loan broker is? I would guess not.

Current management of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorships is contributing to tight mortgage credit conditions, holding back a recovery in the housing market, according to a Federal Reserve Board official.

Fitch's U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities report shows 2011 ending with another decrease in delinquencies during December, but notes that office delinquencies are continuing on an upward trajectory.

Mortgage bankers funded $26.6 billion of jumbo loans during the third quarter, a handsome 30% gain from the same period a year earlier, according to new survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

The 30 days-plus delinquency rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans in CMBS climbed seven basis points to 9.58% in December, according to Trepp LLC.

Two more Standard & Poor's executives whose respective roles have included oversight of mortgage-backed securities ratings are leaving the company, possibly as part of an ongoing reorganization, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.

The Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate's annual survey shows the majority of respondents plan to increase their investment in U.S. commercial real estate this year, even though the percentage is lower than last year's notable high.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to implement a congressionally mandated increase to their loan guarantee fees on April 1.

Publicly traded REIT Two Harbors Investment Corp. is laying the groundwork for a $200 million jumbo MBS deal, partnering with Barclays Bank PLC.

Despite improvements in the job market and low mortgage rates, Federal Reserve officials seem disappointed that their efforts to perk up housing are having little impact, according to minutes of the central bank's December monetary policy committee meeting.

The top 10 sellers of mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pay 20 basis points in guarantee fees compared to 30 bps for firms outside the top 100, according to a new report from Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Most industry stocks followed the market upward Tuesday morning as the Dow rose more than 200 points.

November was the second best month of last year in terms of new private mortgage insurance written, but new applications received declined from October, according to the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America.

Commercial mortgages had a mixed year in the securitized secondary markets during 2011 and the outlook for 2012 is that the sector still faces some hurdles but may hold some opportunities.

If anyone thought the GSE 'Buyback Wars' would subside in 2012 all they have to do is read a recent SEC filing from Bank of America, the poster child of repurchase claims. The bank notes that the "criteria by which the GSEs are ultimately willing to resolve claims have changed in ways that are unfavorable to us."

BOFI Federal Bank, San Diego, is ready to kick off its new warehouse lending business, targeting correspondent lenders.

The surge in refinancings this fall pushed Fannie Mae's issuance of mortgage-backed securities to $63.7 billion in November, up 20% from the prior month.

Americans who are able to buy homes are putting down payments of more than 12% on average, a survey from mortgage lead generator LendingTree LLC found this month.

The highest average residential home loan amount is given to homeowners who live in Hawaii, according to data from LendingTree.

Average weekly fixed rates for mortgages inched up a bit but still are ending the year near their all-time historic lows, according to Freddie Mac.