Capital markets

The former lender’s abrupt closure Wednesday and First Guaranty’s recent bankruptcy filing highlight difficulties in the current mortgage environment despite nonbanks being on stronger financial footing than their counterparts of 14 and 24 years ago.

The largest affordability crunch seen in years and increased secondary-market options make it more pressing and feasible to pilot financing for the lowest-cost manufactured homes, Urban Institute research suggests.

Although the Federal Housing Finance Agency did move ahead with a controversial upfront charge aimed at covering commingled securities risk, it also committed to exploring alternatives that would address concerns from trade groups.

One of the secondary market alternatives the Federal Home Loan Banks of Chicago and Indianapolis offer has a new servicing partnership with PHH, and interest in further cultivating their community lending potential is growing.

Most distressed borrowers who obtained adjustments to their payment amounts saved more than 20% in the first quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The move builds on the government-sponsored enterprise’s previous program that facilitated the collection of more rent payment records from tenants who work with its multifamily borrowers.

The package of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MSRs has some unusual geographic concentrations and a nearly 2.63% delinquency rate, including foreclosures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is moving forward with the charge but also pledged to ensure it doesn’t undermine the uniform security’s advantages the way trade groups say it could.

Industry experts discuss evolving strategies in the hot MSR market as risks related to prepayments decline but concerns around credit and housing finance firms’ liquidity grow.

The agency eased rules regarding delinquency thresholds and reporting regulations through the end of June 2023.

Unlike two years ago, when the surge of refinance loans created a vast pool of free financing for the industry to use, today lenders must pay for it by the drink.

Rising interest rates eliminated any refinance incentive for 30% of the loans analyzed by Standard & Poor's, marking a turnaround from the start of the year when prepay speeds were expected to increase

A new wave of interest in partnerships between investors and mortgage companies is emerging.

California has been more typically prevalent in other offerings, but this nearly $817 million package of rights to borrowers’ payments is one exception in a hot market limited only by capacity constraints.

Equitable housing initiatives the government–sponsored enterprises detailed Wednesday will rely on mortgage company uptake of experimental underwriting strategies.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac asked originators to resubmit applications that contained errors and adjust sold mortgage information due to incorrect life-of-loan representations and warranties.

The inability to include both types together in standard loan pools has been one of the hurdles to the adoption of digital collateral.

However, in line with promises housing agencies have made to be cautious in their expansion of underwriting, new rules around financing for properties with accessory dwelling units still have several guardrails.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will need to submit annual capital plans to the agency. The move follows the introduction of new public disclosure requirements through a separate action last week.