The new housing rescue plan announced by the Obama administration last week includes the strongest commitment the federal government has ever made to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but it proved to be insufficient to satisfy some overseas investors who are increasingly looking for an explicit guarantee from Uncle Sam. Last week, as part of the president’s new Homeowner Affordability and... Read More

After some prodding by eight of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks and a number of other interested parties, the Financial Accounting Standards Board said it will review its fair value guidance to improve disclosures and the application of fair value principles.The FASB review will be undertaken via two major projects, one focusing on application guidance and the other on fair... Read More

The Federal Housing Finance Agency raised some eyebrows late last week when it approved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinance initiatives that do not require the GSEs to have mortgage insurance for a vast swath of new mortgages, raising questions about charter compliance, appraisal requirements, loan level pricing adjustments and potential legal challenges as well. In conjunction with... Read More

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posted big gains in their share of new mortgage production in 2008, but the GSEs saw increased pressure from the FHA as the year wound to a close. Fannie and Freddie issued $899.8 billion in new mortgage-backed securities last year, which equaled a record 61.0 percent of total home loan originations. MBS issuance was the GSEs’... [Includes one chart] Read More

U.S. taxpayers have snapped up at least $200 billion in GSE mortgage-backed securities and debt, since joint initiatives by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to bolster the mortgage market began in the fourth quarter of 2008. Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York added about $19.87 billion of agency MBS to its holdings. That brought the bank’s total agency... Read More

A grouping of 12 of the biggest recipients of money from the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program collectively boosted their investments in GSE mortgage-backed securities and debt, including that issued by the Federal Home Loan Banks, during the fourth quarter of 2008. An analysis by Inside The GSEs of GSE/agency commitments from top... [Includes one chart] Read More

Even the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, still isn’t sure which of the dozens of possible fates will fall upon the beleaguered GSEs. Pat Lawler, chief economist at the FHFA, and Glenn Shultz, managing director at Wachovia Capital Markets, laid out the myriad of possibilities that could become the end result of the GSEs’ conservatorships... Read More

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency are the focal points in an escalating legal battle that is erupting in the wake of the controversial appraisal code the two GSEs agreed to last March in a settlement with its regulator and the New York Attorney General’s office. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers plans to pursue a court injunction against an... Read More

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago expects a big hit from deteriorating non-agency mortgage-backed securities when it reports its fourth-quarter 2008 results – but not big enough to wipe out its earnings for the period. “The Bank currently holds a significant portfolio of private-label MBS, of which all of these securities were rated AAA at the time of purchase,” Peter Gutzmer, executive... Read More

FDIC Set to Raise Assessments On FHLBank Advances on Friday: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board of directors is expected to vote on Friday to approve a deposit insurance... FHFA Has ‘No Plans’ to Use Sub-Area Provision: The stimulus package signed into law this month by President Obama would allow the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the... Read More