Secondary markets

The Federal Open Market Committee said it would increase its holdings of agency mortgage-backed securities by $40 billion per month in a third round of quantitative easing.

The Federal House Finance Agency is committed to building a common securitization platform that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both will use to issue their own MBS, but there will be no blending of their products.

Confirmed: some banks are buying and funding nonprime mortgages -- but the effort is small.

Strategic defaulters, beware. The feds are coming for you—not the FBI, but the Office of the Inspector General at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Mortgage seller/servicers may need to cough up an additional $3.4 billion of damages to Freddie Mac for buybacks.

File this under rumor: residential mortgages that are not eligible for sale to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac/FHA (insurance) are being quietly originated and kept on the balance sheet of community lenders.

As other types of risk mitigation multiply, rewarding borrowers for continuing to pay on underwater assets continues to quietly gain traction.

Fannie Mae’s first multifamily delegated underwriting and servicing real estate mortgage investment conduit deal backed by floating rate collateral attracted banks as well as other buyers.

Some mortgage bankers that have perfected HARP refinancings are starting to hunt for servicing portfolios that are rich with program eligible loans.

Correspondent banking remains a tricky and risky business, but a growing number of bankers believe it can be lucrative.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Tuesday morning unveiled new representation and warranty policies that relieve seller/servicers of any repurchase risk if the borrowers make 36 months of consecutive on-time payments.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—under the auspices of FHFA—are issuing to their seller/servicers relief from onerous representation and warranty clauses on loans they purchase with particular emphasis on mortgages that are current for at least 36 months.

After hitting rock bottom in the real estate bust, commercial mortgage-backed securities financing is making a comeback.

Fitch, Kroll and Moody’s Investors Service have issued presale reports on the latest transaction from the only consistent issuer of private-label mortgage-backed securities deals since the downturn.

Land Home Financial Services entered into a $20,000 settlement with the HUD over alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act involving an application where the wife was on maternity leave.

Title insurance underwriters saw the volume of premiums written during the second quarter increase by $456 million over the same period last year, according to the American Land Title Association.

One factor that could affect prepayments going forward is whether the federal officials decide to embark on another round of easing involving mortgage-backed securities purchases.

The California firm pushing municipalities to seize loans for borrowers owing more than their homes' values, said it would expand its proposed program to include delinquent and defaulted debt.

Eminent domain for underwater loans and laws affecting foreclosures do impact loan originators, said the board of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals.

Radian Group, MGIC Investment Corp. and Genworth Financial—saw substantial increases in their stock prices Friday, one day after Radian released robust monthly results.