Secondary markets

In addition to hinting at a March rate hike, the central bank this week announced an intention to have Treasury securities make up a greater share of its holdings, which has implications for securitized home loans.

New player Tomo is entering this niche while a trio of established players enhance their existing offerings for their third-party channels.

The company will leverage its diversified consumer-finance model while optimizing a traditional mortgage business with thinner margins as the business cycle turns, CEO Patti Cook said.

Due to the rollback in stimulus and uncertainties related to other mortgage policy measures and rates, servicers are moving into uncharted waters, according to a Fannie Mae economist.

The change aims to streamline the processing of certain pandemic-related loan options that accommodate lower monthly payment amounts for borrowers with long-term economic hardships.

The researchers found that the disparities that emerged from the analysis of 1.8 million appraisals from 2019 and 2020 were statistically significant.

Home valuation professionals have had mixed feelings about automation out of concern that some forms could result in less accurate assessments.

The equity commitment by M&G Investments adds to signs that the MSR market is heating up as mortgage rates rise and some buyers have become more confident in their prepayment rate projections.

In a Senate confirmation hearing, the acting Federal Housing Finance Agency director echoed her predecessor’s view that restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should fall to Congress, and pointed to measures aimed at mitigating risk for the agencies.

The portfolio of MSRs from three types of government-related loans has a particularly large California concentration, and could be sold on a component basis, according to the Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp.