Lender accountability for risky mortgage loans that default soon after they are originated was one of the top issues raised by experts who were brought to Washington this week to advise the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on continuing problems in the mortgage market and the credit needs of low- and moderate- income borrowers. Panelists at the FDIC’s latest ComE-IN meeting noted...
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Mortgage lenders that are servicing non-agency mortgage-backed securities may push to do more loan modifications as a result of expanded guidelines released this week by the American Securitization Forum, an industry group representing investors, issuers and other participants in the MBS market. With prodding from the Bush administration, the ASF late last year announced...
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Rapid gains in FHA lending made the government-insured sector the fastest growing market in mortgage servicing during the first quarter of 2008. The total supply of servicing linked to Ginnie Mae mortgage securities rose 4.1 percent during the first three months of the year, reaching $461.48 billion as of the end of March. That was the highest level... [Includes two charts]
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Restoring a healthy financial market is an important part of the future of mortgage lending for low- and moderate-income households, but experts say part of the solution lies in rediscovering traditional programs and approaches. At a LMI forum hosted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said “the financial turmoil since August...
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While the government-sponsored enterprise share of new mortgage originations has grown significantly in 2008, there has been a surprising amount of variation in the volume gains posted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac individually. During the first six months of this year, Fannie Mae’s securitization of mortgages – a good proxy for the purchase of new mortgages... [Includes one chart]
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week began the countdown to July 14, when an expanded FHASecure refinancing program for distressed borrowers and a temporary risk-based premium pricing scheme for FHA mortgages are expected to take effect. Top HUD officials also stepped up their rhetoric against legislative attempts to impose a one-year freeze on FHA’s risk-based...
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The Senate continued work on omnibus housing legislation that – among other things – is hoped will bolster market confidence in the government-sponsored enterprises. But given the roller coaster ride Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac endured this week, it may take more than Congressional intervention to restore faith in the GSEs. After losing roughly half their market capitalization during the...
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