Industry groups are taking seriously new legislation introduced on Capitol Hill that would impose a tax on all securities trading activity, even if most observers see little likelihood of such “Robin Hood” tax legislation being enacted by a polarized Congress. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA, and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, last week introduced the Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act, which would impose a 3 basis point tax on all non-consumer trading of securities, stocks, bonds, interests in partnerships and trusts, and derivative financial instruments. The tax would not be applied on new issuance or debt with...

Recent non-agency mortgage loan modifications are showing better results compared to earlier private-label modifications despite a continued slowdown in new modification activity, according to a new Fitch Ratings analysis. While the number of completed modifications dropped, transactions completed in the past 18-24 months have improved slightly over earlier programs as a result of standardized guidelines, the recent Fitch report said. Patterned on the Home Affordable Modification Program, the standardized guidelines helped to focus attention on creating more sustainable modifications. These features included...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and its wards, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, want to change servicer compensation to provide more resources for addressing nonperforming loans and try to reduce consolidation in the market, but MBS analysts remain concerned that fiddling with the current system could derail the to-be-announced market. “A big concern is that the TBA market for mortgages is very fragile,” said Jim Gross, vice president of financial reporting and public policy at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Making radical changes could further rock the market.” The more radical proposal outlined by the...

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and both chambers of Congress are warming up the hot seat next week for the man in charge of the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they demand answers following the firestorm surrounding bonus payments for top GSE executives.In advance of what is expected to be a heated set of hearings, Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco dispatched a letter to lawmakers late this week to provide his perspective after approving $12.8 million in bonuses for 10 Fannie and Freddie executives.

A bill that would create a legislative framework for a covered bond market in the U.S., as well as a potential competitor for the Federal Home Loan Bank system, was introduced this week in the Senate, a counterpart to a long-standing covered bond bill awaiting final approval in the House.The United States Covered Bond Act, S. 1835, sponsored by Sens. Kay Hagan, D-NC, and Bob Corker, R-TN, is nearly identical to a House bill of the same name sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ, and Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, H.R. 940.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each lost much more in the third quarter of 2011 than during the previous three month period and more than one year ago as the two GSEs reported significant derivatives losses.On a combined basis, Fannie and Freddie lost $9.5 billion in the third quarter, compared to a $5.0 billion loss in the second quarter and $3.8 billion in losses during the same period a year ago.

It will be months rather than weeks before the Federal Housing Finance Agency and other government departments are ready to deploy a plan for bulk sales of the inventory of government-owned foreclosed properties, according to the head of the FHFA.Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises last week, FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco told members that with the long-awaited revision of the Home Affordable Refinance Program out of the way, focusing on the government’s ample real estate owned inventory is the “next priority.”

Congress should permit the conforming mortgage loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA to remain lower as attempts to restore the higher limit could do the mortgage market more harm than good, an expert says.The “emergency” high cost conforming loan limits enacted in 2008 for the GSEs and the FHA expired on Sept. 30, dropping the limit to $625,500 from $729,750.

A bill introduced in the Senate this week would “responsibly unwind” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and “end the dependence on the government for housing finance.” Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, said he introduced the Residential Mortgage Market Privatization and Standardization Act to start a conversation on how to best to rebuild the mortgage finance market.