GSEs

Lawyers for investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac asked a federal appeals court to at least revive their claims that the U.S. stripped the companies of billions of dollars of profits, depriving shareholders of dividends, if not to go further and rule the transfer of profits to the government was unlawful.

Offering counseling to prospective homebuyers as part of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's duty to serve requirements could play a crucial role in helping lenders and nonprofits safely increase access to credit for underserved markets.

Even while FHFA finally embarked on a principal reduction plan, critics argued it was a dangerous idea that made Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac less safe while helping relatively few people.

The U.S. government's 2012 decision to take all the profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will get a federal appellate review Friday when investors argue the appropriation was illegal.

Purchase mortgage activity, which normally picks up in March and April, is getting an extra boost from an improving economy, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

FHFA Director Mel Watt acknowledged that the principal reduction program may seem "too small and too late."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged to four-month highs on speculation lawsuits involving the mortgage giants have progressed in a way that favors shareholders.

Fannie Mae has priced a $1.15 billion credit-risk sharing transaction through its Connecticut Avenue Securities series.

Fannie Mae is selling four large pools of nonperforming loans which have a total balance of $1.5 billion.

Radian Guaranty's new reinsurance agreement will only cover single-premium mortgage insurance policies, a first for the company. These policies have higher capital requirements under the new secondary market standards.

Hint: businesses should be focused on data strategy and security, from the individual up to the enterprise level.

Congress should consider giving direct authority over nonbank mortgage servicers to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to a report released Monday by the Government Accountability Office. The report said there should be "parity" among financial regulators in the oversight of regulated entities and third parties they do business with.

New lender disclosure requirements aren't just disrupting the market for private-label mortgage bonds; they could also impact the market for bonds that transfer credit risk of mortgages insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's experiments with selling credit risk to investors are a critical element of new plan to merge the two entities and move them out of conservatorship, but what form so-called credit risk transfers take could make a big difference.

The total number of loan programs being marketed declined in March, as fewer conventional offerings offset a loosening of standards on government products, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The housing market has been improving but mortgage credit remains "stubbornly" tight on loans bought by the government-sponsored enterprises, according to a chief housing adviser at the White House.

Consumers are feeling a growing pessimism about the direction of the economy that appears to be spilling over into the housing market in March, Fannie Mae said.

Credit market turmoil continued to take a toll on commercial property prices in February, when Moody's/RCA Commercial Property Price Indices national all-property composite index declined for a second consecutive month.

After nearly 20 years of talk, the time for e-closings is finally here, thanks to a push from government regulators and a broad shift in acceptance across demographics.

The agency's insurance-rate cut could spur the rehab of thousands of affordable units, but it's far from a total solution, housing advocates say.