GSEs

Mortgage interest rates fell slightly for the second consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac's net income increased to $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter, more than double what it earned a quarter earlier, the government-sponsored enterprise announced Thursday.

The Basel III capital requirements are making it hard for banks to stay in the servicing business, said David Motley, president of Colonial Savings. Their exodus from the market indirectly hurts consumers, he argued.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo said Wednesday that although he plans to begin working on housing finance reform and changes to the Dodd-Frank Act, the poor relationship between Democrats and Republicans will slow any progress.

Fannie Mae is making technological updates and implementing policy and operational changes as part of an effort to improve servicing.

The government-sponsored enterprises should target their affordable housing efforts to strengthening the single-family market, rather than investing in private equity giants.

The sale will include Fannie Mae's sixth "community impact" pool of loans.

JPMorgan Chase is known to eschew selling conforming mortgage loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, preferring to securitize them in the private-label market.

The denial rate traditionally used by the mortgage industry is hiding the fact that fewer borrowers with lower credit are applying for loans, according to the Urban Institute.

While lenders support the intent of a proposal to encourage the growth of private flood insurance, they claim a regulatory proposal doesn't give lenders enough flexibility and remains too complicated.

The rise in home values is good news for homeowners looking to tap the equity in their homes to pay down debt or make big purchases, but some consumer groups fear it could lead to a new wave of loan defaults.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank ought not rush to raising interest rates next month because uncertainty over the fiscal policies of the Trump administration clouds the U.S. economic outlook.

Uncertainty about the economy caused mortgage interest rates to stay within a 2-basis-point range for the third straight week, according to Freddie Mac.

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose two percentage points to 82.7 in January, reflecting the more positive consumer outlook following November's presidential election.

Ellie Mae has launched a new version of its Encompass mortgage management product, which features expanded support for construction loans and streamlined integrations with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Trump administration was set to release an executive order Friday calling for a review of the Dodd-Frank Act, but the immediate questions about the order focused on what authority the White House has to enact real change.

A federal appeals court ruling has opened the door for litigants to challenge a 2012 decision by the U.S. government to sweep all of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's profits into the coffers of the Treasury Department.

Mortgage interest rates held steady after rising last week because of weaker-than-expected gross domestic product numbers, according to Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have released the final specification update regarding the Uniform Closing Dataset, the digital file format for the TRID Closing Disclosure form.

The federal government needs to recognize Ginnie Mae's importance to the housing industry and divorce its funding and oversight from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.