Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae's serious delinquency rate stood firm for the third month running, adding to evidence that it has hit a floor after dropping for most of the past year.

Community banks and credit unions fear a Senate plan and other legislative ideas will nullify steps taken by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that have made it easier for smaller institutions to compete.

The new regulation, codifying requirements already in practice, is meant to help the mortgage giants prepare for the adoption of a uniform security in June.

Being too dependent on the automated underwriting tools created by the government-sponsored enterprises to originate loans underlying private-label mortgage-backed securitizations could negatively affect their credit quality, a report from Moody's said.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is streamlining its Ginnie Mae holdings by combining mortgage-backed securities with similar characteristics into larger pass-through instruments.

The Senate Banking Committee's vote on Mark Calabria's nomination to lead the agency comes amid speculation about congressional and administrative GSE reform plans.

As expected economic growth remains at 2.2% — down from 2018's 3.1% — 2019 should only be accompanied by a solitary rate hike from the Federal Reserve, according to Fannie Mae.

Refinance volume slipped following growth in mortgage rates, and loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Housing Program barely made a dent in overall volume, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.

The administration’s choice to regulate the government-sponsored enterprises appeared to distance himself from speculation that the White House may try to overhaul housing finance without legislation.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., told the mortgage giants' chief federal regulator that the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new model for estimating loan losses could pose risk across the mortgage market.

Industry observers will be closely monitoring Mark Calabria's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday for hints about how the Trump administration plans to proceed on mortgage finance reform.

Consumers have higher household incomes and more faith in cooling home price and mortgage rate growth than they did a year ago, which could allude to a stabilized housing market in 2019, according to Fannie Mae.

Fourth-quarter increases in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage origination volume helped Walker & Dunlop reach a new quarterly high in revenue of $215 million.

After the State of the Union speech Tuesday night, members of the House and Senate banking committees said they were intent on trying to address the biggest unresolved piece of financial services policy: housing finance reform.

Recent developments give the impression that the administration and lawmakers are in direct competition, but the ultimate framework may rely on coordination from both branches of government.

A significant percentage of consumers are willing to turn to technology companies for their financial needs, including applying for a mortgage, although they have trust issues with them, a Fannie Mae report said.

Absent some policy change, nearly a third of the loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Qualified Mortgage rule in two years.

Despite the release of Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo's outline of a government-sponsored enterprise reform plan, most policy changes will likely come from the White House, and may even materialize this year, said Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

As policymakers consider administrative reforms to Fannie and Freddie, they must address the problem of capital arbitrage to avoid overleveraging the mortgage system.