Mortgage lenders repurchased just $522.5 million of home loans from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the first quarter of 2014, according to disclosures filed by the two government-sponsored enterprises with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That was by far the lowest quarterly repurchase volume reported by the GSEs, according to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends, an affiliated newsletter. Because Fannie and Freddie this year stopped providing detailed repurchase activity data in their quarterly earnings, the SEC disclosures are the only comprehensive source of GSE buyback activity. First-quarter repurchase volume was...[Includes one data chart]

Smaller and mid-size mortgage lenders were more likely than larger lenders to say their credit standards tightened over the past three months and will tighten more in the next quarter, while larger lenders were more likely to say their credit standards eased in the prior quarter and will continue in the next, according to results of a new lender survey announced by Fannie Mae. The divergent view of credit standards between larger lenders and others is among the key findings of the government-sponsored enterprise’s new Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey. The quarterly survey focuses on the supply side of the mortgage business and dovetails with Fannie’s monthly national survey of consumers, which provides current information on the demand side of housing. Lender survey results collected during the first two quarters of 2014 showed...

Despite certain “unique” circumstances under which principal might be reduced on a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan, the government-sponsored enterprises’ blanket prohibition on principal reduction remains in place, according to the GSEs’ regulator. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it remains true to its long-standing policy despite a recent change in management and in the face of continued calls by progressive groups for the FHFA to embrace the use of principal reduction on GSE-backed loans in foreclosure mitigation. “As outlined in FHFA’s 2014 Strategic Plan for the Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FHFA is...

Texas was the second largest source of Fannie/Freddie business during the first half, accounting for 7.3 percent of the market.

By extending the comment period, it’s likely that lenders will have at least 120 days before any g-fee hikes are installed.

The Fannie-BofA squabble was tied to repurchase claims surrounding the bank’s legacy book of business, largely involving loans produced by Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch.

In mid-July senior White House staff, Treasury officials and the staffers from the Council of Economic Advisers met with representatives from a number of industry trade groups to discuss housing finance reform.

"There are plenty of small deals out there," said one mortgage analyst, "but no big ones."

RPM Mortgage, one of the largest privately held nonbanks in California, has signed a new origination deal with Mechanics Bank, Walnut Creek, CA.

Nationstar Mortgage and Walter Investment are the only seller/servicers (counterparties) mentioned by name in the FHFA IG report on nonbank risk.