Secondary

The former SoFi chief’s latest startup, Figure, has created what it says is a transparent marketplace for buying and selling assets. Some banks have embraced the technology, but other blockchain projects have stalled because lenders don't want rivals to see their data.

The mortgage giants were criticized earlier this month for a plan to charge an "adverse market fee" to protect against losses resulting from the pandemic.

If Trump is reelected, his administration would likely move forward with privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and relaxing key rules, while a Joe Biden presidency would likely try to expand homeownership access and borrower protections.

While cutting losers to buy winners is an age-old investment proposition, the Covid-19 pandemic may create even more openings than the past crises that became bonanzas for real estate investors.

Meanwhile, July saw a record surge in existing-home sales, while mortgages in serious delinquency were on the rise

Most of the proceeds will be used to deal with debt maturities, with the rest held by the MI unit's parent.

There were questions about the GSEs' use of structured credit risk transfers in the single-family market given an earlier pandemic-related market disruption.

Lenders initially won't be able to pass on the cost of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's "adverse market fee" to borrowers whose rates on GSE-backed mortgages and refinances are already locked in.

The higher charge on mortgages refinanced through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is supposed to cushion against a crisis but could contribute to one as the fees are passed on to struggling consumers.

Banks and other lenders have found a way to potentially make billions of dollars from the coronavirus-fueled upheaval in the U.S. mortgage market — yet it risks burning bond investors in the process.