Cart

Inside Mortgage Finance

January 20, 2006

View Archived Issues

GSEs Shift Gears in 2005, But Continue Facing More Pressure from Booming Non-agency Market

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to invest heavily in the non-agency subprime and Alternative A market in 2005, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the two government-sponsored enterprises from losing more ground in the mortgage market. With unexpectedly strong ARM business in the primary market and stiff competition from other MBS investors, 2005 wasn’t a highly favorable business climate for the two GSEs. In addition to their business challenges, Fannie and – to a… [One data table included] Read More

Declining Mortgage Market Could Bring Increased Merger Activity, Fine-Tuning of Business Plans

A potential 20 percent drop in origination volume in 2006 may spur more mortgage banking consolidation in 2006, but experts don’t expect to see a merger frenzy develop this year. Buying a mid-tier mortgage lender may be a good way to maintain volume and revenue in a tightening market, said Craig Focardi, a research director at TowerGroup. But mortgage company acquisitions will increase only “slightly” over the tepid pace of the past few years, he… Read More

Critics Question Fannie Mae’s Plan to Expand Home Builder Finance Program

Fannie Mae late last week dusted off a 15-year-old controversy when it announced a relatively modest plan to provide $10 billion in financing for home builders over the next decade. In a speech at the annual convention of the National Association of Home Builders, Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd said the government-sponsored enterprise plans to ramp up its acquisition, development and construction program as part of its American Dream Commitment. He said Fannie has helped… Read More

Reforming Federal Flood Insurance Program Considered Major Legislative Priority in 2006

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did more than pulverize the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Mississippi last year; they also revealed gaping problems in the federal flood insurance program that Congress now says it plans to fix. Lawmakers late last year approved legislation to raise the National Flood Insurance Program’s borrowing authority to $22 billion – the third such increase in 2005 made necessary to pay off hurricane claims. The latest bailout bill also included some… Read More

Congress Likely to Approve Data Breach Bill in 2006, But Progress is Slowed by Jurisdictional Squabbles

Mortgage lenders and other financial services providers are closely watching Congressional efforts to beef up data security requirements in 2006. With a number of different bills pending in various committees, industry sources say a key issue is whether Congress produces one strong piece of legislation, rather than multiple overlapping bills. … Read More

Community Groups Blame Weakened CRA Rules for Surge in Share of ‘Oustanding’ Ratings for Thrifts

A surge in the share of federal thrifts that have received an “outstanding” rating in 2005 under the Community Reinvestment Act is an indication of a CRA grading system gone awry as a result of a controversial CRA rule implemented by the Office of Thrift Supervision last year, according to community reinvestment groups. … Read More

Shrinking Ginnie Mae Servicing Business Heavily Concentrated Among Big Lenders

The Ginnie Mae servicing business remained concentrated in a group of large lenders at the end of 2005, with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage holding the biggest chunk of the market. Wells was servicing $89.5 billion of loans securitized through the Ginnie Mae program as of Dec. 31, or about 22.0 percent of the total market. That was down slightly from the company’s Ginnie servicing volume at the same time in 2004, but Wells did a… [One data table included] Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results