Secondary markets

By obtaining a third-party opinion that provides a reasoned analysis supporting borrowers' ability to repay, a lender places itself in a substantially stronger position with respect to subsequent ATR claims.

The Legg Mason unit plans to buy mortgages made to self-employed borrowers who may not have the documentation for qualified mortgages as well as interest-only loan.

WinWater Home Mortgage is planning its first sale of bonds without government backing.

The regulator wants to ensure the government-sponsored enterprises set guarantee fees at a level that turns a profit after covering the cost of capital, administrative expenses and expected credit losses.

Ocwen Financial Corp. will no longer require distressed borrowers involved in litigation with the mortgage servicer to sign nondisparagement agreements as a condition for receiving a loan modification, New York's banking regulator said Wednesday.

An appeals court on Wednesday voided a controversial decision in 2011 by New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff, saying he erred in scuttling a $325 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup.

Bank executives see opportunity in selling MSRs and servicing the loans for the buyers.

Fairholme Capital Management sold $51 million in the common shares of mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to activist investor Carl Icahn, according to a court filing.

Western Asset Management Co. is helping to resuscitate the market for mortgages not backed by the government.

A battle over social media about how well the current housing finance system treats African-Americans and other minorities has spurred a critical discussion about racial disparities in the mortgage market.

It could take quarters or years. It may require fatter yields to entice investors, or move-up homebuyers in need of jumbo loans. This much is agreed upon: Nobody really knows.

Research found the Ditech name still resonates with consumers after a five-year absence from the market, the lender says, though this incarnation won't be originating nonprime loans.

The congressional stalemate over how to restructure the housing finance system leaves several questions unanswered about other bank regulations currently in the pipeline.

The government is not providing enough support to serve a wider range of homeowners, many lenders say. But it's doubtful that the private market can do much better at this point.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are retaining more high-quality, conforming mortgages that they would normally sell to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, raising concerns that the banks are adversely selecting the weakest loans for the government-sponsored enterprises.

Fannie Mae sold $1.6 billion of risk-sharing debt to investors who today accepted the same yields on securities that wager on the default rates of riskier mortgages as on bonds tied to safer loans.

A joint effort by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop new technology for issuing mortgage-backed securities needs cost controls and a schedule, the auditor of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

Freddie Mac has long struggled to compete with larger rival Fannie Mae because the former's mortgage-backed securities trade at a discount to the latter's. Their new regulator may change that.

The trade group is now predicting $1.05 trillion of volume for this year as unemployment and tepid wage growth hold back homebuying.

The mortgage life support provided by the federal government since the crash is ebbing. It will be interesting to see if the industry can breathe on its own now.