The CFPB is apparently under such time constraints to promulgate its various rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, it can no longer wait to publish them in the Federal Register. A recent final rule from the bureau says its final rules will now be considered “issued” on the earlier of the rules’ posting on the agency’s website or publication in the Federal Register. The CFPB says the definition of when a rule is issued has legal consequences, and the bureau generally intends to issue rules by...

Is the Mortgage Servicing Rule Next? The CFPB has a field hearing scheduled for January 17 in Atlanta, and the industry scuttlebutt is that the bureau might release its mortgage servicing rulemaking sometime the day before. Last week, the CFPB released to the press, on whatfs known as an gembargoedh basis, many of the details of its gqualified mortgageh/ability-to-repay final rule on the afternoon before the bureaufs Jan. 10 mortgage policy field hearing in Baltimore, MD. The actual final rule, however, was not...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week issued a long-awaited final rule that establishes ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage (QM) standards, as well as a second, temporary category of QMs for government-backed mortgages to avoid market disruption. At the same time, the CFPB sought comment on a proposed rule that would exclude new and existing FHA, VA and Rural Housing Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture) programs that facilitate refinancings for borrowers at risk of delinquency or default. The temporary QM category was spurred by CFPB’s concern about the ...

The Obama administration is making a renewed push in 2013 for a government-backed non-agency refinance program, potentially the third major phase of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. However, there appear to be numerous hurdles to using the government-sponsored enterprises to help refi non-agency borrowers and a similar proposal using the FHA has yet to gain widespread support in Congress. Under the latest HARP 3.0 proposal, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would refinance certain non-agency mortgages with negative equity, waive mortgage insurance requirements and charge the borrowers higher guaranty fees. The proposal would require approval from Congress. “After taking significant taxpayer bailouts, the GSEs’ fiscal condition is...

The securitization market generated $1.847 trillion in new residential MBS and non-mortgage ABS in 2012, reversing two straight years of declining volume, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. Last year’s output was up 41.2 percent from total issuance in 2011, and it marked the strongest annual new issuance volume since 2009. Total securitization volume rose modestly, by 2.3 percent, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, and activity cooled significantly in December. As has been the case since the financial market meltdown in 2008, securitization was dominated...[Includes three data charts]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued its long-awaited “qualified mortgage” ability-to-repay final rule that, as expected, includes an exception for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages and does little to facilitate a rebound in the non-agency sector. Mortgage lenders will be presumed to have complied with the ability-to-repay rule if they originate “qualified mortgages” that prohibit or limit the risky features believed to have harmed consumers in the recent mortgage crisis. That means...

New York Mortgage Trust recently completed two unique short-term securitizations backed by residential and multifamily mortgages. Officials at the real estate investment trust said the deals provide NYMT with greater funding flexibility for future loan purchases. Shortly before the end of 2012, NYMT issued a security with a three-year term to finance residential mortgages owned by the REIT with an aggregate market value of approximately $59.6 million. NYMT said it received gross cash proceeds of approximately $38.7 million before deducting expenses associated with the private placement. “We believe...

Although Congress’ and the president’s just-in-time agreement to forestall the fiscal cliff crisis, at least for a while, provided some mortgage market-friendly results, MBS investors still face some challenges in 2013, analysts say. The American Taxpayer Relief Act, H.R. 8, includes a one-year extension through Dec. 31, 2013, of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act that exempts loan amounts forgiven by lenders and foreclosures from taxable income. Deductions on mortgage insurance premiums for borrowers making below $110,000 were extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012, as well. “The combination of tax relief on mortgage insurance premiums and debt forgiveness should have...

Proponents of creating a covered bond market in the U.S. say the prospects of such a move have never looked better in the wake of legislative momentum in Congress, the off-year election year and the adoption of a covered bond framework in Canada. Last month, Canada’s national housing agency announced details of the legal framework for the issuance of Canadian covered bonds. Under the framework, registered covered bonds will be issued through a program that will be run by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The Canadian framework will operate...

The final rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week to define ability-to-repay requirements and “qualified mortgages” puts non-agency and subprime mortgages at a significant disadvantage to prime and agency mortgages. The slant against non-agency loans goes beyond what was required by the Dodd-Frank Act, according to industry analysts. The rule is set to take effect Jan. 10, 2014. Under the final rule, qualified mortgages must meet...