GSEs

Hiring by independent mortgage firms accelerated in September after a slowdown in the prior month.

Fannie Mae's new representation and warranty relief offers lenders a long-awaited incentive to use its automated loan validation technology. But is it enough for lenders to make the necessary technology updates and process changes to implement the tools?

The agency released a plan last week that would stipulate that newly constructed homes financed by the Federal Housing Administration would have to be elevated two feet above the 100-year-based flood level.

Mortgage rates increased 7 basis points to their highest level since late June, the largest one-week gain in more than six months, according to Freddie Mac.

A new refinance mortgage offered by SoFi and Fannie Mae lets consumers tap into their home equity to pay down student loan debt at terms more favorable than a traditional cash-out refi.

Freddie Mac's credit risk transfers come with a hefty price tag, but are ultimately still worth it, according to Chief Executive Don Layton.

Freddie Mac's net income rose to $2.3 billion in the third quarter, a big turnaround from the same point last year, when it lost $475 million due to derivative hedging instruments.

Courting borrowers with past bankruptcies might not cross most loan officers' minds as the best strategy for building business, but Guaranteed Rate's Danielle Young doesn't let borrowers' past blemishes intimidate her.

Commercial mortgage originations increased 5% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, driven by a huge increase in government-sponsored enterprise volume.

The mortgage industry is welcoming the Obama administration's possibly final word on housing finance reform, hoping it will serve as guidepost for the future.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed to achieve their low-income and very low-income single-family home purchase goals for 2015, the Federal Housing Finance Agency annual housing report said.

Mortgage rates slipped from last week's spike and the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage eased back to its summertime range below 3.5%, according to Freddie Mac.

Arch Capital Group's mortgage insurance business had underwriting income of $37.4 million in the third quarter, an increase of 119% compared with the $17.1 million one year prior.

The Freddie Mac Multi-Indicator Market Index for August was up 5.4% over the same month last year, driven by its purchase component, which had an 18.6% increase.

Fannie Mae is planning to provide relief to lenders from potential buybacks for loans in which the borrower's income, assets and employment information have been validated through automated underwriting.

Equifax Workforce Solutions has been selected as a designated vendor for Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter validation service.

Lenders will get a reprieve from the threat of some mortgage-related penalties under a new program announced by housing-finance giant Fannie Mae on Monday.

The U.S. housing market is about 10 times larger than Canada's, but we can learn a few lessons from the country's cautious approach to its housing policy.

Fannie Mae has started a pilot program that transfers 265 basis points of default risk on $3.7 billion of loans delivered over a six-month period to private mortgage insurers.

A federal court appeals decision could theoretically mean that Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry now answers directly to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, a significant break from the agency's history of independence.