Secondary markets

Fannie Mae late Friday finally had something to say about Bank of America's announcement that it would no longer sell new purchase money loans to the GSE: it hopes to resolve the buyback disputes between the two parties.

Twenty-four hours after Bank of America told Fannie Mae to take a hike on secondary market purchases, the realization is starting to sink in that one party -- the GSE -- may stand to lose a lot more than the seller/servicer.

First off, I'd like to thank the crew at Bank of America for continually giving mortgage reporters and editors something to write about. Don't get me wrong--there's plenty of good stories out there. And let's face it--and you read it here first: What happens regulatory and legislatively over the next three to four years should shape the future of this industry for the next 50 years.

Ah, the morning after a bitter split. Late yesterday Brian Moynihan of Bank of America walked into Fannie Mae's bedroom and told that secondary market hussy that the marriage was over. "No more loans for you," Moynihan shouted as he left the boudoir, suitcase in hand and a one-way ticket to Virginia where his new best friend, Freddie, awaited. (Okay, I made that part up but you get the drift.)

Bank of America Thursday afternoon confirmed that it will no longer sell any new purchase money mortgages to Fannie Mae -- though it will remain a HARP lender.

Rejected documents from the county recorder create time delays and decreased efficiencies add up to a cost of billions for the industry with the burden of this cost falling on the current holder(s) of the note. The process of preparing corrections, transporting and re-recording documents will cause double, sometimes triple, the work for employees of those firms.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to see if the multifamily businesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can be spun off and privatized.

Weak demand for advances among member banks suppressed profits at several of the nation's Federal Home Loan Banks during the fourth quarter.

An upcoming legal decision related to whether a proposed $8.5 billion Countrywide RMBS settlement returns to New York state court could affect the speed at which a deal moves forward — or whether it happens at all, according to a new report from Barclays.

The nation's new housing commissioner has a message for the mortgage industry: FHA insurance guarantees are falling - and that's a good thing.

Mortgage applications declined by almost 5% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Feb. 17, as refinancings declined and rates on fixed-rate loans began to increase, according to figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to make GSE loan buyback policies more transparent, eliminating uncertainty in the secondary market while encouraging lenders to fund new loans.

New final IRS/Treasury regulations defining the source of income from qualified "fails" expands the scope of a temporary regulation related to Treasury fails to agency mortgage-backed securities and debt.

United Guaranty Corp., Greensboro, N.C., the nation's third largest mortgage insurer, Tuesday named Kim Garland to be the firm's new president and CEO.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is determined to continue its mission of shrinking the balance sheets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and plans only to add product when the two need to buy delinquent mortgages out of delinquent MBS pools.

All of the major mortgage industry economists are predicting that 2012 will see a decline in originations from 2011. Yet, instead of retrenching, several organizations are predicting increased volume and acting upon that by expanding their retail branch networks.

First things first: Yes, I can live on $500,000. Heck, I can live on $250,000 a year. Would I like to run Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage giant? Answer: Sure, why not? But first I have a few stipulations.

The Wilbur Ross controlled American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., Coppell, Texas, has a new name: Homeward Residential to go along with its master plan to become a full service mortgage banking firm.

Mortgage technology and service provider Altisource reported net income of $26 million for the fourth quarter and earnings of $71 million for the full year.

The House and Senate on Friday passed a $150 billion bill that extends a payroll tax reduction and unemployment benefits for 10 months without increasing guarantee fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.