Secondary

The Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Trump administration had been preoccupied with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital position. Acting Director Sandra Thompson has shifted the agency’s focus to affordable housing and fair lending.

The deal appears to take advantage of a shift in federal rules reducing the level of non-owner-occupied loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase.

Even as lenders increased purchase share, higher expenses and margin compression related to pricing competition led to smaller quarterly net gains.

The proceeds from the trust’s certificates will refinance some CMBS debt, among other balance sheet uses.

Revenue at the fintech company grew from prior periods without even taking into account any contributions from the Title365 acquisition at the end of the quarter.

Refinancing, high home prices, the concentration of pandemic-related hardships in the FHA market, and the lingering impact of last year’s market disruption all likely played a role in the intensified discrepancy.

The home purchase target for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would set a new 10% benchmark for qualified single-family lending in census tracts that meet certain demographic and income targets.

The wholesale lender has a cost structure aimed at beating the competition in a rising rate environment, Chairman and CEO Mat Ishbia said on the second quarter earnings call.

Depressed margins and a $219 million hit to its servicing rights fair value translated to a lower bottom line at the wholesaler.

Originations of loans to the self-employed and other outside-the-box borrowers had better margins than mainstream mortgages in the second quarter, but rebuilding after the niche market’s temporary disruption last year generated significant expenses.