Capital markets

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are telling lenders that they are willing to retain loans with defects if they believe the defects are minor and can be fixed. But Freddie is one-upping Fannie by offering to retain such loans without charging lenders a fee.

The price of the loans underlying commercial mortgage-backed securities increased modestly from October to November, according to DebtX.

Mid America Mortgage Inc. has created a scratch-and-dent purchase program to buy loans with TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rule defects.

The rising number of Chinese buying U.S. homes could be a boon for investors with a stake in residential mortgages.

Arch Mortgage Insurance introduced a new pricing program to better aligns a policy's risk with the amount of the premium. But analysts have expressed concerns about pricing competition.

Some mortgage investors are refusing to buy home loans that are at risk of violations of new consumer-disclosure rules. The problem appears to be worst among nonagency jumbo loans purchased by private investors.

American Mortgage Consultants has bought JCIII & Associates, in a combination of providers of mortgage due diligence and consulting.

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority issued more than $400 million of bonds in 2015 to finance mortgages at below-market interest rates for low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers, according to authority officials.

Sen. Bob Corker championed a provision he added to the budget bill that would temporarily prevent the Treasury Department from recapitalizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and discussed other banking priorities in a sitdown interview.

Fannie Mae's final risk-sharing transaction of the year was with reinsurers.

Freddie Mac will begin issuing single-family mortgage-backed securities sometime next year via the new common securitization platform, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday.

Analysts at Kroll Bond Rating Agency predict issuance in bonds backed by commercial mortgages could hit $125 billion next year, even with borrowing costs rising as interest rates go up.

There could be more willingness among lenders to roll back self-imposed requirements for agency loans in 2016, but secondary-market conditions will be mixed for mortgage sellers while rates and costs are poised to rise.

Fannie Mae is offering yet another carrot to lenders that have lobbied extensively for relief from loan repurchases.

Most investors in a JPMorgan survey said they want to ditch the pricing benchmark now used for a variety of asset-backed bonds — the swaps curve — and go back to Treasuries. But it's not so easy.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency unveiled a new proposal Tuesday that would detail how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should serve three underserved markets: manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural markets.

As the mortgage industry heads into the New Year, National Mortgage News is taking a look at the biggest trends and topics that will shape 2016.

Freddie Mac plans to issue $976 million of multifamily mortgage-backed securities later this week.

Javelin Mortgage Investment has negotiated a rebate agreement with its manager and taken other steps in a bid to reduce expenses by about $2.1 million.

Ellie Mae has released an updated version of its mortgage management software, with updates on compliance and overnight rate protection for secondary marketing.