GSEs

In his first public policy speech as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mark Calabria stressed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will have to raise significant capital via a public offering and take other steps in order to escape government control.

Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, have revived legislation that would prohibit Congress from using certain fees collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offset unrelated government spending.

Even though mortgage delinquencies increased on a quarter-to-quarter basis, strong overall metrics mitigate any concerns regarding future loan performance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

First-quarter operating revenue in Equifax's Mortgage Solutions unit was the lowest it's been for the fiscal period since 2016, and the company anticipates declines in this division will remain a concern.

While prepayment speeds on agency mortgage-backed securities rose in April, that increase should be short-lived as further significant interest drops are not expected, said a report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has named three senior advisers for policy, economics and communications.

Lower rates hurt the value of Impac Mortgage Holdings' servicing rights and overall earnings in the first quarter, but they could help improve the company's second-quarter results.

Mortgage lending credit standards loosened a bit last month as investors displayed more interest in non-qualified mortgage and nonagency jumbo loans to stay competitive, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Investors can now exchange certain existing Freddie Mac bonds for to-be-announced uniform mortgage-backed securities in preparation for the full launch of UMBS next month.

A GSE exemption in the bureau’s “qualified mortgage” rule is set to sunset in 2021, and regulators should not try to extend it as some experts have suggested.

Consumer expectations of further mortgage rate drops leaves them seemingly in no rush to enter the purchase market which could be why their optimism on home buying is falling, a Fannie Mae report said.

Freddie Mac is now offering to buy a new form of manufactured housing loan with terms similar to that of conventional mortgages from all eligible lenders, following a test run last year.

Freddie Mac will keep building on the financial reforms that produced profitability during conservatorship as broader government-sponsored enterprise proposals take shape, according to departing CEO Don Layton.

Fannie Mae is considering sharing more risk with the private sector to reduce future strain on its earnings from the implementation of the Current Expected Credit Loss accounting standard next year.

Recapitalizing the GSEs by cutting off returns to the government would essentially be buying the GSEs from the taxpayers with money that belongs to the taxpayers.

Freddie Mac increased its origination forecast for 2019 by nearly 4% from last month as lower interest rates will result in more borrowers refinancing than previously expected.

Silverton Mortgage, an affiliate of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has joined a small but growing group of lenders in offering a newer form of government-sponsored enterprise financing for manufactured homes.

New FHFA Director Mark Calabria isn't just charting a future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also fixing problems resulting from the "qualified mortgage" exemption for the GSEs and taking a "deep dive" into problems in the mortgage servicing market.

The mortgage industry identified two technology initiatives it claims have the greatest potential to improve processes and be the most broadly adopted over the next two years, according to Fannie Mae.

Adolfo Marzol, who has served as an adviser to HUD Secretary Ben Carson, will now report to the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.