Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae is about to roll out a new underwriting system that will address some concerns about layered risk that cropped up after it raised its maximum debt-to-income ratio.

Mortgage lenders are growing more pessimistic about their profitability, with the highest percentage ever seen in Fannie Mae's first-quarter industry sentiment survey expecting a decline in margins.

The security that was incorporated into the index is backed exclusively by loans on green building certified properties; the GSE is still working on acceptance of financing for green upgrades.

Freddie Mac and Arch Capital are testing a new form of risk-sharing deal to boost investor appetite for low down payment mortgages. But the pilot is raising concerns about "charter creep" because it dictates private mortgage insurance decisions typically made by lenders.

A late addition to regulatory relief legislation would direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency to review credit-scoring alternatives, but some say the provision is redundant.

Think you know your IRRRL from your LPMI? See if you can ace this quiz of 10 quirky abbreviations from the origination sector of the mortgage industry.

If GSE reform leads to the 30-year mortgage's demise, homebuyers' monthly payments could soar by $400, according to a recent Zillow estimate. But lenders aren't convinced this housing finance staple is in any danger of being replaced.

Essent Guaranty is marketing $360.75 million of notes linked to the performance of a pool of residential mortgages that it insures; its following in the footsteps of Arch Capital.

A Senate proposal calling for a federal guarantee on mortgage-backed securities would only benefit the largest banks and increase the risk of bailouts.

The success of the government-sponsored enterprises' credit risk transfer programs shows that they can be the basis for housing finance reform.