Secondary

Borrowers who have defaulted in the past are generally considered to be a bigger risk than those who have never missed a payment. Yet the early performance of bonds backed by rehabbed residential mortgages is pretty strong.

Under the Federal Housing Finance Agency's new mortgage modification program, less than 1% of all seriously underwater properties might qualify for principal loan forgiveness, according to RealtyTrac.

Fannie Mae will make a $919 million dividend payment to the U.S. Treasury Department after reporting a first-quarter profit driven by fees for guaranteeing loans against default and credit-related income.

PHH Corp. reported a first-quarter loss of $30 million, which included a $10 million pretax adjustment to the value of its mortgage servicing rights.

Social Finance Inc., whose loan originations have been concentrated in the non-qualified mortgage space, will now offer conforming products after receiving Fannie Mae seller/servicer approval.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday it had raised a cap on the amount of multifamily loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy from lenders, boosting it to $35 billion effective immediately.

Freddie Mac's second quarterly loss in less than a year makes it clear profitability is getting tougher as it shrinks. But it's a concern that must be weighed against more long-term efforts to reduce Freddie's overall credit risk exposure.

Industry groups are urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency to end the sweep of profits of the GSEs so that Fannie and Freddie can rebuild capital.

United Guaranty's pretax operating income of $163 million benefited from lower mortgage delinquency rates but a decline in refinance originations affected the amount of new insurance written.

Bank of America Corp. said it reached a $190 million agreement to resolve a six-year-old legal claim from Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle over mortgage-backed securities sold before the financial crisis.