GSEs

As major banks have pulled back from originating Federal Housing Administration single-family loans, nonbank mortgage lenders have become bigger players in the Ginnie Mae program.

Confidence among homebuilders unexpectedly fell in May, reflecting cooling sales and slower buyer traffic, a sign the residential real estate market will take time to gain momentum.

Nomura Holdings Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group should pay $806 million in damages to government-owned mortgage companies over misleading securities pitches, a federal housing agency told a judge.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency provided more details Friday about key features for the new single security that will be issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Builder Application Survey reported that applications for new-home purchases rose by just 0.3% in April.

The multifamily market is heating up as apartment owners and investors refinance in a rush to lock in low interest rates, but caps on government-backed lending programs are threatening to disrupt momentum.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings president and chief operating officer Harold Lewis has announced his plans to retire and resign his posts with the company, effective May 31.

Lenders are heading into the MBA's Secondary Market Conference with stronger origination volumes and secondary market relationships than last year. But how long will these volumes last and how can the industry make the most of them?

Fannie Mae has created a new financing option for multifamily properties looking to undergo energy- and water-cost saving improvements.

Other regional Federal Home Loan Banks are lining up so their members can securitize FHA and VA loans through Chicago FHLB conduit.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.85% this week, up from 3.8% last week and the highest since mid-March.

Mortgage origination activity slowed in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, but showed improvement on a year-over-year basis.

The number of mortgage loan products offered increased in April, driven by lenders adding the FHA's 203K home improvement program, VA offerings and jumbo products to their mix.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp.'s net earnings rose in the first quarter to $13.3 million, more than seven times higher than its income of $1.8 million during the same period in 2014.

More lenient capital requirements than expected from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were good news for two legacy private mortgage insurers, but another is facing a bigger deficit than initially thought.

In response to the guidance offered by one of our commenters recently, Freddie Mac sets the record straight about their review process.

A lot of bankers want on-balance-sheet mortgages declared ultrasafe under federal rules, and Wells Fargo executive Brad Blackwell explains why he thinks it's in their self-interest more than ever to live up to their arguments in favor of such a policy.

Genworth Financial Inc., the insurer divesting units after posting record losses, has sold 14% of its Australian mortgage-guaranty unit, the company announced on May 11.

Home prices climbed in 85% of U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter as low mortgage rates and the strongest labor market in almost seven years spurred demand.

Trading of securities backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie is down sharply since the beginning of the year. Bankers' concerns about capital and rates are among the reasons, and the problem may ultimately make the underlying market for mortgages less liquid.