Secondary markets

Inflation and higher interest rates are hurting distressed borrowers, but low unemployment, remaining forbearance and loss mitigation options are still blunting their impacts, recent loan-performance numbers suggest.

Delinquencies are likely to rise if both interest rates and inflation continue their upward movements, a DBRS Morningstar report said.

The company looks to leverage its understanding of credit risk developed through its mortgage insurance and analytics operations.

The government-sponsored enterprises divested themselves of the largest share of these loans since they first began selling them in 2014, a Federal Housing Finance Agency report found.

The 18.5% increase in Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's purchase authority was the driver of a 41% decrease in higher balance originations between December and January.

The regulator's mortgage translations website offers the Supplemental Consumer Information Form in the six most-spoken languages in the U.S.

The former lender’s abrupt closure Wednesday and First Guaranty’s recent bankruptcy filing highlight difficulties in the current mortgage environment despite nonbanks being on stronger financial footing than their counterparts of 14 and 24 years ago.

The largest affordability crunch seen in years and increased secondary-market options make it more pressing and feasible to pilot financing for the lowest-cost manufactured homes, Urban Institute research suggests.

Although the Federal Housing Finance Agency did move ahead with a controversial upfront charge aimed at covering commingled securities risk, it also committed to exploring alternatives that would address concerns from trade groups.

One of the secondary market alternatives the Federal Home Loan Banks of Chicago and Indianapolis offer has a new servicing partnership with PHH, and interest in further cultivating their community lending potential is growing.

Most distressed borrowers who obtained adjustments to their payment amounts saved more than 20% in the first quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The move builds on the government-sponsored enterprise’s previous program that facilitated the collection of more rent payment records from tenants who work with its multifamily borrowers.

The package of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MSRs has some unusual geographic concentrations and a nearly 2.63% delinquency rate, including foreclosures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is moving forward with the charge but also pledged to ensure it doesn’t undermine the uniform security’s advantages the way trade groups say it could.

Industry experts discuss evolving strategies in the hot MSR market as risks related to prepayments decline but concerns around credit and housing finance firms’ liquidity grow.

The agency eased rules regarding delinquency thresholds and reporting regulations through the end of June 2023.

Unlike two years ago, when the surge of refinance loans created a vast pool of free financing for the industry to use, today lenders must pay for it by the drink.

Rising interest rates eliminated any refinance incentive for 30% of the loans analyzed by Standard & Poor's, marking a turnaround from the start of the year when prepay speeds were expected to increase

A new wave of interest in partnerships between investors and mortgage companies is emerging.

California has been more typically prevalent in other offerings, but this nearly $817 million package of rights to borrowers’ payments is one exception in a hot market limited only by capacity constraints.