Fannie Mae

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has appeared willing to take its own steps to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but legislation would be necessary to create an explicit guarantee of the mortgage system.

Director Mark Calabria urged lawmakers to grant the agency chartering authority similar to that of bank regulators to boost competition in the mortgage market.

Foreclosure rates in March hit their lowest reading for the month in at least 20 years, while overall and serious delinquency rates also achieved 13-year lows for the same period, according to CoreLogic.

Prepayment speeds for loans included in agency mortgage-backed securities were up approximately 20% both monthly and annually during May as the decline in interest rates boosted activity, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Economic strength bolstered the performance of loans included in commercial mortgage-backed securities with delinquencies improving for the seventh consecutive quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was adamant that the Trump administration won’t just let Fannie and Freddie build up their capital buffers and then release the companies. He also said he backed an explicit government guarantee, something only Congress can do.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has far more authority to upend the status quo than most realize, according to a new report.

A long list of "preparatory steps" means that any potential Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac initial public offerings are at least three to four years away, according to Raymond James.

Consumers' knowledge of the mortgage process and what it takes to purchase a home has not improved from four years ago and lenders have an opportunity to fill that need, Fannie Mae said.

The assumption that conservatorship can end without significant changes in how the GSEs operate may be the most dangerous one of all.

The consolidation of the two companies' securitization platforms into a single bond market became official on Monday.

The head of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator blamed “burdensome” local regulations for a lack of housing supply, and also provided an update on the administration’s plan for GSE reform.

The nonconforming market is ready to absorb most of the government-sponsored enterprise loans covered by the QM patch, but not all of them, according Redwood Trust.

The launch of a combined securitization platform for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is meant to ease the transition to a new housing finance system. But questions remain about how the mortgage sphere will adapt to the single security.

As the bond market drives yields down because of the economic turmoil, mortgage rates moved in concert, dropping below 4% for the first time since January 2018, according to Freddie Mac.

Mortgage prepayment speeds may rise with the strong U.S. rate rally, and that may be cause for alarm for mortgage investors.

Freddie Mac uncovered a growing number of fraudulent school records and work histories in California, where Fannie Mae also has noted increasing instances of falsified employment information.

Mortgage lending has a long way to go before most people associate it in any way with virtual reality.

Plaza Home Mortgage has improved its pricing for certain jumbo loans that Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system approves, but categorizes as ineligible due to loan size.

Activist investor Blue Lion, which has been waging a campaign for changes at HomeStreet Bank, is pressing the Seattle-based company to consider selling its Fannie Mae multifamily mortgage operations.