Declining equity and surging escrow payments may be a precursor to market stress in some parts of the country, analysts say.

Mortgage market stakeholders are uncertain how an end to the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would play out.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank’s balance sheet hasn’t grown as much as people think, but that MBS sales might be needed to balance the duration of assets and liabilities.

It may take time for MBS investors to fully understand how use of the new credit score for underwriting loans sold to the GSEs impacts pricing and hedge strategies.

President Trump and FHFA Director Bill Pulte are going after high profile targets to address mortgage fraud at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

There’s no consensus on how the Trump administration’s effort to end the conservatorship of the GSEs should address senior preferred shares in Fannie and Freddie.

To this point, Freddie has issued multifamily risk-sharing transactions without ratings. The Morningstar DBRS rating could open these multifamily CRT deals to institutions that only invest in rated transactions.

FHFA said lenders can now use VantageScore 4.0 when underwriting GSE loans. It’s not clear, though, if the mortgage industry is ready to take advantage of the opportunity.

The FHLBanks responded forcefully to complaints that they fail to live up to their affordable housing mission and that they are a threat to the financial system.

The MBA said increased competition in the credit score space could improve competition in the mortgage space “if implemented correctly.”