Freddie Mac

Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, have revived legislation that would prohibit Congress from using certain fees collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offset unrelated government spending.

While prepayment speeds on agency mortgage-backed securities rose in April, that increase should be short-lived as further significant interest drops are not expected, said a report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Mortgage rates continued to decline during May, as fears over a possible trade war with China drove investors into safer instruments, according to Freddie Mac.

Nonbank mortgage companies have traditionally been monoline or focused businesses, but in the current market they must create multiple revenue lines and strike a healthy balance between them to survive.

Investors can now exchange certain existing Freddie Mac bonds for to-be-announced uniform mortgage-backed securities in preparation for the full launch of UMBS next month.

A GSE exemption in the bureau’s “qualified mortgage” rule is set to sunset in 2021, and regulators should not try to extend it as some experts have suggested.

Freddie Mac is now offering to buy a new form of manufactured housing loan with terms similar to that of conventional mortgages from all eligible lenders, following a test run last year.

Mortgage rates dipped after four weeks of increases, finally mirroring the drop in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, according to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac will keep building on the financial reforms that produced profitability during conservatorship as broader government-sponsored enterprise proposals take shape, according to departing CEO Don Layton.

Fannie Mae is considering sharing more risk with the private sector to reduce future strain on its earnings from the implementation of the Current Expected Credit Loss accounting standard next year.