Risk management

The Federal Housing Finance Agency appears poised finally to allow principal reductions, but it's been nearly a decade since the mortgage crisis and underwater borrowers are much fewer thanks to higher home values.

The agency may finally be reaching resolution on whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow principal reductions, two years into Director Mel Watt's tenure as agency director and nearly a decade after the mortgage bubble burst.

Fannie Mae is marketing its second offering of the year of Connecticut Avenue Securities transferring the credit risk on mortgages that it insures.

As a handful of new issuers enter the market and the implementation of a key regulation pave the way for subprime securitization's comeback, the volume of new loans that are actually available to the market remains a question.

W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital shut its doors after it was stuck with nonagency loans with TILA/RESPA integrated disclosure issues that it couldn't sell.

The Federal Housing Administration revised its proposed lender certification requirements on Tuesday in an effort to provide more clarity and reassure lenders they won't be penalized for minor loan defects or mistakes.

Ginnie Mae needs more and better paid staff to keep up with growing risks on nonbank seller/servicers, the watchdog agency head said.

To hear some former examiners tell it, companies that are hostile during the exam process may get dinged more often than those that show respect and professionalism. Following are tips to ensure bankers do better on their next exam.

Home equity lenders are putting more loans on the books, thanks to increasing property values. But utilization rates are falling, not increasing, and older loans are paying off at a faster clip than lenders can replace them.

QRM clarified the rules of the road for securitizations. Now, participants in the MBS world seeking better margins are looking beyond the safe harbor — to the subprime space.