Although prime conventional mortgage production – both above and below the conforming loan balance – enjoyed a solid rebound in volume during the second quarter, the nonprime market in 2006 has solidified its one-third share of new production, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. An estimated $269 billion of nonprime mortgages were originated during the second quarter of this year, making it the second highest three-month period ever for production of subprime and Alt A home loans...
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Washington Mutual this week launched a new production funding vehicle that will tap European investors as an alternative to Federal Home Loan Bank advances and traditional securitization. WaMu’s new $26 billion covered bond program features debt collateralized by U.S. residential mortgage collateral, according to a presale report by Standard & Poor’s, which gave a preliminary tri-ple-A rating to the bonds. Covered bonds are senior debt obligations that are secured by specific assets...
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering repealing changes it made to the FHA’s late endorsement process after HUD’s Inspector General notified the agency that the hastily researched changes could cost HUD well over $19 million. The IG found that FHA’s risk assumption was flawed and the changes actually increased the likelihood of higher default and claim rates for late-endorsed loans. HUD announced the changes, removing the six-month payment history requirement for...
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The Bush administration is still pursuing sweeping legislative reform as its first choice to im-prove oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but executive branch agencies are also pushing more modest regulatory changes under existing laws that may remain in effect for some time to come. With Congress back in session this week, not much has changed with the stalled legislation to reform government-sponsored enterprises. House Committee on Financial Services Chairman Michael Oxley, R-GA, and House Democrats...
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As the 109th Congress’ legislative calendar winds down, the prospect of seeing much anticipated legislation reforming the FHA mortgage insurance program is growing dimmer by the day, although less controversial reform proposals might still make it in separate appropriations measures, according to industry observers. With fewer than 20 working days left, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has yet to act on an FHA reform bill introduced this summer by Sen. Jim Talent, R-MO...
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Bowing to the realities of a market where the lines between prime and subprime lending have become increasingly blurred, the National Home Equity Mortgage Association has agreed to a merger with the Mortgage Bankers Association. Both trade groups are spinning the merger as a win for the industry. “This partnership is in the industry’s best interest and will allow the MBA to have one, strong voice that speaks on behalf of the entire mortgage lending industry,” said MBA Chairman Regina Lowrie...
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High foreclosure rates in Ohio have caught the attention of the House Financial Services Committee, which recently held a field hearing to investigate the reasons behind a foreclosure rate that is more than twice the national average. But if lawmakers were seeking certainty from their meeting in Cuyahoga County, they likely left disappointed: industry and consumer group representatives who testified at the hearing offered very different explanations for the problem – and urged a different set of solutions to deal with it...
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