FHFA

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson is pushing for a quick launch of pilot programs at the 11 Federal Home Loan banks to help underserved communities after its report this week prescribed major reforms to the system.

Amid the release of Q3 bank earnings, the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors ponders whether efforts from the government-related entities help or hurt the independent mortgage bankers that are taking up a greater and greater share of 1-4 family lending and servicing.

Questions about how it will be implemented and whether the rest of the market will follow the agency's lead make the expense involved difficult to estimate.

An analysis of previously released S&P data suggests the Federal Housing Finance Agency's initiative would have mixed impacts on the price of loans and eligibility that vary by individual.

Numbers the Federal Housing Finance Agency just reported for 2022 were the third lowest since the program began, and this year's probably won't be high either.

The report comes from Federal Housing Finance Agency Inspector General Brian Tomney's office, which also is keeping an eye on turnover risks at the government-sponsored enterprises.

The proposal by a regulator overseeing government-related loan buyers could cut companies with small infractions off from a key source of business, groups say.

The mortgages are part of a program that received congressional scrutiny earlier this year.

Any comprehensive overhaul of the Federal Home Loan Bank System will have to navigate a dense thicket of countervailing regulatory and stakeholder priorities.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency also is offering more opportunities for public dialogue as stakeholders debate how fast the process should move forward.

Some respondents reprised calls for a return to more flexible capital rules and portfolio-level cross-subsidization. Others see danger in such a move.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is adding advanced models that include rental payment histories and trended data, but others tap cell phone or consumer-permissioned bank data.

Removing such debt information from consumer reports generated an uptick in home loan inquiries in one study and other industries have found advanced score use pays off.

Industry executives coming off a tough year are wondering what the transition will cost and how many borrowers it'll bring in.

This first step in updating borrower assessments was seen as the easiest and could reduce costs, but stakeholders fear change that reduces data inputs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can likely withstand potential credit losses twice as high as last year's in the latest scenario, but they are at more risk of slipping into the red.

Profit in the first half of the year at the 11 Home Loan banks already exceeds 2022's total.

The decision from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to allow lenders to review only two credit reports for mortgage applicants will harm homebuyers with less than perfect credit, writes the founder and CEO of Financial Services Innovation Coalition and a certified general appraiser at the Dawson Valuation Group.

The association thinks this could simplify and manage the costs of two new pending credit requirements by allowing companies to add the one that's been through a price hike second.

The share of homeowners late by 30-59 days got slightly higher but remained below 1%, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.