Freddie Mac projects that interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will hit 5.00 percent by the end of 2014, with little impact on affordability.

Speaking at a housing finance forum sponsored by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic, Gene Sperling, a White House economic advisor, said the Obama Administration believes the “risks are simply too great and that this would recreate the problems of the past.”

The exact g-fees charged to primary originators by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are one of the best kept secrets in the industry.

The settlement offer – which does not cover claims on trusts issued by Washington Mutual – will remain open until Jan. 15, 2014, but may be extended.

Mortgage professionals who work the M&A trade contend that interest in residential finance is not waning in the least, but potential buyers are being a bit more choosey these days.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed the two GSEs to accelerate their portfolio trimming by focusing on “less-liquid” assets other than their own MBS.

A Miami-based investment management firm, one of the largest junior preferred shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, this week offered to buy and operate the MBS guaranty businesses of the two government-sponsored enterprises with $52 billion of private capital and “a business plan that is sustainable with or without a federal reinsurance plan.” In a four-page letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco, Bruce Berkowitz, chief investment officer of Fairholme Capital Management, proposed to form two new state-regulated insurance companies to own and operate the assets of Fannie and Freddie “that are relevant to the continuing insurance business.” Under the Fairholme plan, the new MBS guarantors would be capitalized...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac picked the low-hanging fruit first and sold large chunks of their most liquid “less-liquid” assets during the third quarter of 2013 as the government-sponsored enterprises continued to shift their business away from retained investments. The GSEs reduced their combined holdings of commercial MBS by 32.1 percent during the third quarter, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis of their retained portfolios. The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed the two companies to accelerate their portfolio trimming by focusing on “less-liquid” assets other than their own MBS. The commercial MBS market has been...[Includes one data chart]

The Center for American Progress called on FHFA to keep g-fees at current levels “until there is reliable evidence” to suggest that the government needs more revenue to cover the cost of the guaranty.

One last thought on Berkowitz and Fairholme: To get Congress to listen to your ideas you have to donate money. Berkowitz can check that box off his to-do list. He has been a generous donor to Republicans and Democrats alike over the past two election cycles.