Fannie Mae

Vaccinations and a third round of stimulus payments are boosting consumers views on the housing market, according to Fannie Mae.

Also: Fannie sets early limits, servicing retention rates fade to record lows and loan broker inquiries rise as competition heats up.

After a booming 2020, more mortgage lenders than ever before expect diminishing margins in the coming months as climbing interest rates set up heightened competition.

Some applaud the agency's recent delay of the mandatory compliance date for a new Qualified Mortgage standard. Others say it leads to more uncertainty for lenders, opens the door to additional changes and enables some companies to loosen their underwriting.

The agency issued a proposal moving the compliance date for the Qualified Mortgage rule revamp to October 2022.

While its net income declined annually for the second consecutive year, CEO Hugh Frater touted Fannie Mae’s resiliency in a record year for providing mortgage liquidity.

The former president and CEO of GE Capital’s restructuring and strategic ventures group was named executive vice president and chief risk officer soon after the departure of Fannie EVP Andrew Bon Salle.

The Biden administration could encourage the FHFA to increase the caps or restore exclusions for certain types of loans, which would boost overall volumes.

Despite mortgage rates expected to rise modestly in 2021, a bolstered Biden administration stimulus package and COVID-19 vaccination efforts bring promise for economic recovery.

Changes in rules related to repayment options and refinancing criteria have complicated servicers’ lives, but otherwise this crisis hasn’t been as bad as that of 2008, a Fannie Mae survey finds.