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Inside Mortgage Finance

July 18, 2008

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HUD, Fed Still on Separate Disclosure Tracks Despite Fed’s Decision to Drop Broker Portion of TILA Rule

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Reserve are nowhere near a joint consumer disclosure undertaking even after the Fed announced withdrawal of key disclosure provisions from revised Truth in Lending Act regulations it unveiled this week. There has been no indication that the two agencies are moving to coordinate efforts to harmonize disclosure rules under... Read More

Surge in Correspondent Production Means Heavy Hitters Take a Smaller Share at the Point-of-Sale

Although industry consolidation continues to clump a growing share of mortgage activity among the top lenders, originations activity at the point-of-sale actually became more fragmented in early 2008, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. During the first quarter, the top five lenders in the industry reported a total of $181.7 billion in retail and... [Inludes one chart] Read More

Securities and Exchange Commission Tries to Shore Up GSE, Broker-Dealer Stock Prices by Banning Naked Short Sales

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an emergency order Wednesday to prevent stock traders from “naked” short-selling shares of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and large brokerage groups. The order will take effect Monday morning and last until midnight on July 29, “unless further extended by the Commission.” It came in reaction to the plummeting values of shares of the government-sponsored... Read More

IndyMac’s Demise May Reveal Little About the Outlook for Non-Conforming Mortgage Strategy

The federal regulators who shut down IndyMac Bank late last week say the institution’s failure had little to do with a mortgage lending strategy that leaned heavily on non-conforming products. IndyMac burst into the ranks of top 10 mortgage lenders back in 2005 largely because of its booming Alt A lending program. From 2004 through 2007, the company originated some $173.4... [Includes one chart] Read More

Fed Hastens Tougher Final Rule on Subprime Mortgages in Effort to Restore Confidence

The Federal Reserve this week approved a major revamp of lending standards, particularly for subprime loans, doing lenders few favors compared with a proposal unveiled in December. Most of the new rules, which apply to all lenders, take effect in the fourth quarter of 2009. The Fed said it received 4,700 comments on its proposal to revise sections of Regulation Z that implement the Home... Read More

GOP Call for Stand-Alone GSE Reform Bill Could Delay Omnibus Housing Legislation

Omnibus housing legislation finally approved by the Senate late last week is in danger of stalling in the House as Republican lawmakers are balking at efforts to shoehorn controversial proposals to create new safety nets for the government-sponsored enterprises into the bill. After weeks of delay, the Senate on July 11 approved omnibus legislation that features a new regulatory apparatus for the... Read More

More Details of GSE Financial Aid Plan Surface in Draft Amendments

The Treasury plan to offer emergency financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would also cover the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks, according to draft legislative language obtained by Inside MortgageFinance. The proposed legislation would add new sections to the enabling acts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHLBanks that would specifically authorize Treasury to purchase “any obligations and... Read More

Mortgage Crisis Spotlight Hits Fannie and Freddie, Bush Administration Scrambles to Restore Confidence

The Bush administration scrambled this week to restore investor confidence in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But even the announcement of an extraordinary and unprecedented legislative plan to offer emergency financial support to the two financially battered companies did little to immediately calm a stock market that continued to pummel all financial service firms. Early this... Read More

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