GSEs

Officials at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae all heaped praise on nonbank mortgage lenders for stepping up to provide loans for home purchases at a time when many banks have scaled back.

Six years after a global financial crisis exacerbated by the lack of transparency in the market for U.S. mortgage debt, regulators are planning only a small step toward offering the public more information on trading.

Principal reductions for underwater borrowers would cost approximately $89 billion, according to Black Knight.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell for a fourth week, reducing borrowing costs to the lowest level in a year and a half.

The Federal Housing Finance Administration has advised private mortgage insurers that it will delay the release of revised capital standards.

Interest rates for conforming mortgages have fallen to their lowest level in over a year and a half, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Nonbank mortgage servicers are already in the crosshairs of regulators. Now they will face even more scrutiny from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Delinquency rates for commercial and multifamily mortgages declined in the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Despite the opinions of many that low-down-payment mortgages didn't cause the housing crisis, the fact is that these types of loans did contribute mightily to the bubble that burst.

Freddie Mac announced its first K-deal that includes a manufactured housing community loan.

Freddie Mac said that rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped this week to 3.97%.

Mortgage applications decreased last week as both refinance and purchase activity fell.

Having fought many battles with Congress over curbs to bond and other programs that affect affordable housing, John Murphy expects the challenges will continue as he retires from the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies after 30 years as its executive director.

A final judgment against Bank of America in a mortgage-bond lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission was signed by a federal judge, helping clear the way for the lender to complete a $16.7 billion global settlement of claims it misled investors about risk.

Banks could originate 300,000 more home loans per quarter and face only a slightly higher risk of default, according to a new report. But lenders are unlikely to loosen lending standards until they are sure that Fannie, Freddie and the FHA have eased up on buyback requests.

Fannie Mae has partnered with the Detroit Land Bank Authority to stabilize distressed neighborhoods.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will let borrowers who have gone through foreclosure buy back their homes at market prices under a policy shift announced by the regulator for the two U.S.-owned companies.

According to Home Mortgage Disclosure and Mortgage Bankers Association data, independent, nonbank mortgage lenders originated 40% of the home purchase loans made in 2013.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities advanced at a slower pace in the 12 months through September as the housing market continued to make gradual progress.

New initiatives meant to increase access to credit have rekindled the debate over whether housing counseling is the best and most cost-effective way for preparing consumers to become mortgage borrowers.