GSEs

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have launched an online clearinghouse with resources to assist lenders in serving borrowers with limited English proficiency.

It's a critical time in Washington, with many key institutions in the mortgage and housing industries getting new leaders. At the Mortgage Bankers Association, there's a renewed focus on maintaining effective influence with decision makers on initiatives like housing finance reform, innovation and the evolving needs of home buyers.

Home price index swaps, treated as a second lien on a property, will be used to reduce the default risk associated with low down payment mortgages, one of the program's creators said.

Fannie Mae has appointed Hugh Frater, a member of its board of directors, to serve as its interim chief executive officer after Timothy Mayopoulos steps down next week, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Freddie Mac made its first equity investment into a low-income housing tax credit fund in nearly a decade, through a partnership with Enterprise Community Investment.

Lenders offered fewer government-guaranteed mortgage programs in September, leading to an overall decline in mortgage credit availability, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew by 1.6% during the second quarter, benefiting from improved property values and low interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued new capital requirements for private mortgage insurers that will create big swings in carriers' asset reserves.

After a run-up in the latter half of last year, delinquencies on mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look fairly stable for the time being.

As the House Financial Services Committee prepares to hold a hearing Thursday on oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the exact focus of the hearing remains somewhat in flux.

Lower corporate tax rates weakened the incentive for developers to use the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which could prompt affordable housing construction to fall by as much as 40% by 2022, according to data aggregator Reis.

Increased competition among non-qualified mortgage lenders leading to lower starting interest rates for borrowers should result in fewer of these loans prepaying within one year of origination, said Standard & Poor's.

A stronger economy, easing house price appreciation and slightly improving inventory conditions aren't enough to push up home sales this year, according to Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae will add an appraisal waiver option for mortgages in regions that its Duty to Serve program designates as high-needs rural areas, but only if home inspections are completed instead.

The CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are stepping down because the job they were hired to do — return the GSEs to profitability — is done. But attracting top-flight candidates to lead the mortgage giants into a new phase may not be easy.

Brian Brooks, the mortgage giant's general counsel, is leaving this week to head the legal team at Coinbase.

Accessing a mortgage applicants' data from a direct source goes a long ways toward shortening the origination process, according to 96% of mortgage underwriters responding to a recent CoreLogic survey.

While new-home construction and sales should rise in the next 18 months, next year's mortgage origination volume estimate was cut slightly as the economy is expected to slow down soon, said Fannie Mae.

A decade after the credit crisis, investors are returning to where it all began. The mortgage sector, blamed in large part for the near-collapse of the global financial system, is now seen by many as a high-quality market forged by fire.

The agency’s director has been under pressure to quit as he is investigated for sexual harassment allegations, but an agency spokesperson says he still plans to testify at a housing finance hearing slated for later this month.