GSEs

DeVito takes over on June 1, replacing interim CEO Mark Grier, who returns to his seat on the government-sponsored agency's board.

Estimates suggest the government-sponsored enterprises did encourage increased lending to this demographic last year but ran into challenges related to the pandemic's impact and their own fluctuating business models.

The individuals allegedly defrauded Freddie Mac and CBRE Capital Markets by misrepresenting information used to refinance a small-balance loan.

Groups active in low-income and rural housing expressed frustration that the post-pandemic resumption of long-term goal-setting didn’t do more to raise the bar.

Issuance of capital market instruments aimed at protecting one government-sponsored enterprise from distressed mortgage credit events staged a relatively quick rebound in 2020, a new Federal Housing Finance Agency report shows.

With little transitional disruption, the bigger players on the non-agency side could gain a hefty share of non-owner-occupied mortgage volume as a result of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s caps on such purchases, a KBRA analysis finds.

It’s getting easier to close bigger loans for higher-priced properties, but credit is expanding slower for first-time buyers.

Fannie and Freddie's regulator says the companies must comply with the new Qualified Mortgage standard by the summer, while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has extended the deadline to 2022. The conflicting timetables have stoked uncertainty in the market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is calling for input on how to better safeguard against potential lending risks associated with residential buildings filled with short-term rental units.

While cash-out refinances were a “significant driver” of risky loans leading to the Great Recession, those mortgages pose less of a threat due to tighter underwriting standards, according to Milliman.

Hedge accounting will align Fannie’s reporting with competitor Freddie Mac, and will address a mismatch between the recorded value of financial instruments used to offset interest-rate volatility on mortgages and the loans themselves.

Only $89 billion of the $362 billion in new single-family volume came from purchase mortgages.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has moved ahead with an earlier proposal to postpone the full adoption of the qualified-mortgage ability-to-repay rule, citing a need to maximize borrowers' credit access.

It would be available to homeowners making 80% or less of their area’s median income who weren't eligible to tap into low rates last year.

System updates, which may be a result of changes to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements, have Community Home Lenders Association members saying loans that were approved previously are getting rejected when put back through.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s new limits on loans secured by investor properties and second homes may put pressure on applicants to misrepresent their occupancy status.

Long-term home-based operations are more likely than they were prior in March of last year, but some origination and servicing professionals will return to the office, a recent survey suggests.

The government sponsored enterprise’s latest forecast calls for a nearly $4 trillion year for 2021.

The diverse group of loans in the servicing rights portfolio offers a potentially attractive recapture opportunity and would be a sizable transaction for their era.

The development bodes well for outcomes on distressed loans backed by major government-related mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.