Servicing

Eight years ago a Bear Stearns research report on the mortgage insurance industry warned of a grave threat: In exchange for steering home buyers to the insurers, mortgage lenders were demanding unjustifiably lucrative reinsurance deals.

Any borrower who believes they were harmed by a foreclosure initiated by 14 major servicing banks soon can seek out an independent review of their case, according to Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh.

Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan on Monday raised his 2011 origination forecast to $1.2 trillion, up from a recent forecast of $1.09 trillion.

The latest jumbo securitization from the only issuer that has been in the market recently has a lot of positives as usual. But among its few negatives is a slightly reduced and somewhat idiosyncratic geographic concentration risk that may be offset by the strength of the regional originator the produces it.

It appears as though lower GSE loan limits may soon become reality, but that hasn't stopped housing, realty and mortgage trade groups from promoting the issue.

Rialto Investments, the distressed asset arm of home builder Lennar Corp., took a $10 million charge relating to its joint venture with AllianceBernstein LP in the third quarter.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will hike their guarantee fees some time next year to better reflect "that which would be anticipated in a private competitive market," FHFA acting director Ed DeMarco said Monday morning.

What seems like a no-brainer — turning the hundreds of thousands of vacant, foreclosed homes controlled by the federal government into rental units — is going to be tough to accomplish.

The White House plan to refinance upwards of $2 trillion of problematic GSE loans is running into a roadblock: MBS investors, in particular foreign buyers that are allies of the U.S.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency pushed back last week against claims that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sophisticated investors that should have done a better job of vetting their purchases of mortgage-backed securities.