FHFA

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is suspending its ongoing review of new credit scoring models and will instead move forward with creating a regulatory framework for providers of alternative credit scores to apply and be evaluated for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge for low down payment mortgages disproportionately reflect their risk exposure and make homeownership more difficult for underserved borrowers.

With ruling in GSE case, the two agencies are emerging as the test subjects for a legal showdown over their authority.

A federal appeals court in Texas agreed with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders that the FHFA, led by a single director, violates the separation of powers.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may need to tap into U.S. Treasury funds when they adopt CECL, a new accounting rule that makes companies set aside money upfront for expected loan losses.

A Fannie Mae test to handle the private mortgage insurance process for lenders may raise concerns that it's going outside the scope of its secondary market mission. But the effort reflects its mandate to explore new credit-risk transfer alternatives, a company executive said.

The bill aimed at helping struggling homeowners also requires documentation of servicer behavior and FHFA evaluation of the services provided to borrowers.

No plan will be implemented as long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in conservatorship, but a capital framework for the companies could still have a substantive impact.

The agency proposed new minimum capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would only go into effect if the government ends its conservatorships.

The cash-out mortgage refinance share was at its highest in nearly 10 years in the first quarter, due to rising interest rates and homes not being used as piggybanks.

In the continued absence of legislation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator announced work on a new capital framework.

Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia are acknowledging the legislative efforts to end government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are dead, at least for now.

For nearly a decade, the FHFA has restricted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from trying to influence the raging debate over whether they should live or die.

Freddie Mac has quietly started extending credit to nonbanks that issue mortgages, a move it says will help the companies maintain access to a crucial stockpile of cash if their home loans go sour.

The Treasury secretary said reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will come into focus more in 2019, when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt’s term will end.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's plan to combine Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages into a single security starting in June 2019 promises to bring both benefits and challenges to the mortgage sector.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities grew in February at the fastest pace since mid-2014, underscoring the persistent scarcity of inventory amid strong demand, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Blockchain technology promises to streamline how mortgages are managed at every point in their life cycle. But it will take an industrywide embrace for blockchains to reach their full potential.

The use of appraisal management companies does not result in higher quality property valuation reports, according to a working paper published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The future secondary mortgage market entities will receive high investment grade ratings, even as there is no clarity on their scope or form, Fitch Ratings said.