It might be said that OFHEO was a weak federal regulator...

In the first quarter, average credit scores on purchase mortgages were virtually unchanged…

Fannie Mae: “We expect this will prompt businesses to turn to cost-cutting..."

By comparison, commercial banks must have tier 1 capital of 8.0 percent of risk-weighted assets.

JMP likes the higher profit margins that accompany non-QM lending…

The AAF warns against the GSEs becoming private entities again, noting there’s no way for them to raise enough capital…

Earlier in the decade, Sebonic was started by former employees of RoundPoint Financial...

Consultant Joe Garrett: "Salesmen don’t get paid less just because the company didn’t do well..."

A strong surge of purchase-mortgage business helped lift Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac production of single-family mortgage-backed securities in May, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Credit characteristics in May production were relatively unchanged, however. The two GSEs securitized $65.63 billion of single-family MBS last month, a 6.8 percent increase from April’s volume. Most of the gain came from a 23.6 percent jump in purchase-mortgage business as home buying season kicked into gear. Refinance volume was up slightly, and neither ... [Includes two data charts.]

There are benefits to merging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to one conservative think tank opining on the future of the GSEs.The American Action Forum said because the government-sponsored enterprises are being funded in part by taxpayers, and treated as being on the federal budget, the goal should be to align policy with the budget. “This raises an intriguing possibility. Merge Fannie and Freddie into the Department of Housing and Urban Development,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin president of the AAF and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office in the early 2000’s.