Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee are close to introducing legislation to take on the gargantuan task of resolving the status of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but from multiple angles, not just one piece of legislation. Informed sources indicate...
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Jumbo mortgage production held up better than overall mortgage originations in 2010, and the non-agency sector for the first time in two years edged past agency-funded jumbo lending. Total jumbo mortgage originations – production of new home loans exceeding $417,000 – rose...[Includes two data charts]
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The Mortgage Bankers Association this week announced that FHA Commissioner David Stevens will take over as the next president and CEO of the trade association, concluding a two-year stint at the government agency. Stevens will take over... [Includes one data chart]
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Four months before it is scheduled to assume authority over the nation’s mortgage and financial services sector, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is poised to begin its existence with too much power, not enough oversight, and run by a lone director who has yet to be named or nominated...
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Two heavy-hitting regulators defended the soon-to-be-imposed regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act to a disgruntled audience of commercial bankers, claiming that the new rules aren’t targeted at smaller banks and that they shouldn’t worry so much. “Not every part of our financial system is working...
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Two mortgage broker groups have filed separate lawsuits to prevent the Federal Reserve from implementing a controversial compensation rule for mortgage loan originators, but compliance experts doubt whether such legal strategies can stop the rule permanently. As the rule’s April 1 effective date draws...
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The amount of home mortgage debt outstanding declined for the 11th consecutive quarter during the final three months of 2010, sinking to its lowest level since the end of 2006. The Federal Reserve last week reported there was $10.55 trillion of single-family mortgage debt outstanding at the end of 2010, down 0.6 percent from the third quarter. Since peaking...[Includes two data charts]
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Obama administration officials reviewed the steps they are taking to scale down the government’s role in the mortgage market and suggested a long-awaited rule on mortgage securitization could surface in a few weeks. At a hearing in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said...
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House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-CA, has called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to produce documents that would show whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have started buying up junk mortgages once again. "These mortgages, which featured...
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