Two significant issues related to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act have received fresh attention at the Supreme Court, which is expected to make landmark rulings next year. The U.S. Solicitor General and a group of state attorneys general filed briefs in Freeman v. Quicken Loans, a case in which the high court will likely determine the ability of the mortgage lending industry to decide what to charge borrowers at the point of origination. RESPA Section 8(b) provides that “no person shall give and no person shall accept any portion, split or percentage of...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the City of Chicago this week to keep it from enforcing its recently amended “Vacant Buildings Ordinance” against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The move may provide servicers a way to fight the ordinance without bringing upon themselves any enforcement action from the city while the litigation is pending, according to some observers. “The City of Chicago is interfering unlawfully with FHFA’s federally mandated oversight and exercise of discretion, as conservator...

The volume of home mortgage debt outstanding sank to a five-year low as of the end of third quarter of 2011, according to new data released by the Federal Reserve. The agency reported that the outstanding volume of single-family mortgage debt fell 0.6 percent during the third quarter, dropping to $10.336 trillion. That marked the 15th consecutive quarterly decline and the lowest level since the third quarter of 2006. The only component in the servicing market that’s showing much growth is the Ginnie Mae program, where the outstanding balance of...(Includes two data charts)

“Tough-love” counseling for borrowers can curb re-defaults by looking critically at how all forms of spending affect a person’s ability to pay off mortgage and credit card debt, according to a subservicer that uses this approach. “Dollars are in competition when a family is in trouble,” said Stephen Stack, managing director of Outreach Financial Services. “There is a struggle between paying different creditors, and holistic counseling helps redistribute the money in the best way.” Holistic financial counseling looks at a borrower’s entire spending pattern – from mortgage to credit card to...

Agency residential MBS issuance in November rose to its busiest level since the start of 2011, but seasonal slowdowns in housing activity and a refinance boom that’s losing steam suggest that the current wave is at or near its peak. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae generated a total of $114.53 billion in new single-family MBS during November. That was up 11.2 percent from October volume and marked the highest monthly production level since January 2011, when the agencies issued $137.76 billion. But consumer demand for refinance loans has been...(Includes two data charts)

Industry experts and trade groups said this week they were generally supportive of a House Republican bill to create a new non-agency residential MBS market, but they still want the government to have a role, however limited, in the final product. The Private Mortgage Market Investment Act, drafted but not yet filed by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ, would create a heavily regulated MBS market made up solely of private entities that would function with no federal guarantee at all. Garrett, who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government...

Federal financial regulators are still sifting through stacks of criticism about their controversial risk-retention proposal for the MBS and ABS market and have not yet decided whether to start over again with a new proposed rule, as most industry groups have urged them to do. The agencies are also getting a lot of push from Capitol Hill to re-think the original proposal, which was released in late March. “I am very concerned that if the qualified residential mortgage definition being worked out by regulators isn’t broad enough, it could hurt the housing market, especially...

Lawmakers and experts reviewing a proposed bill that seeks to drastically overhaul the secondary mortgage market without the need for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac question whether the Federal Housing Finance Agency is the most appropriate choice to implement key components of the program.The Private Mortgage Market Investment Act, drafted but not yet filed by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ, would create a heavily regulated mortgage-backed securities market made up solely of private entities that would function with no federal guarantee at all.

Debt issuance for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks all recorded increases in new debt issuance during the third quarter of 2011.The three GSEs collectively issued $797.7 billion in new debt issue during the third quarter, a 9.8 percent increase from the previous quarter, while GSE debt outstanding at $2.152 trillion declined 4.8 percent from the second quarter.

Just in time for the holidays, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each announced last week that all foreclosure-related evictions from occupied single-family and two-to-four unit properties with Fannie or Freddie mortgages will be suspended from Dec. 19, 2011 to Jan. 2, 2012.