Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shed some light on how renegotiating the preferred stock purchase agreements by the Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency might impact plans to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The department has proposed implementing a “homebuyer sustainability scorecard” to measure the performance of loans to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and first-time homebuyers.
Will the third quarter be better than the second for originators? Looks that way. Meanwhile, mortgage M&A advisor Houlihan Lokey might wind up as one of Treasury's GSE advisors.
The FHFA issued a new rule that potentially paves the way for new competitors to the classic FICO model. VantageScore is happy but will other vendors jump into the credit scoring pool?
Will the FHFA trim cash-out refis by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? For now, all is quiet on the topic. In other news: HUD ushered in new regulatory changes for FHA condo financing, making it easier for borrowers and lenders.
Top nonbank servicers continued to expand their agency MSR positions in the second quarter via acquisitions and organic growth. Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and BofA were the only top-10 agency servicers to shrink.
Low interest rates and a growing refi market helped Fannie Mae and Fred-die Mac post robust earnings. The GSEs expect to send a combined $5.2 bil-lion to Treasury as dividend.