GSEs

Risk management and technology systems at the Federal Housing Administration lag decades behind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and desperately need to be revamped, according to a top official at HUD.

Since its inception, the qualified mortgage rule has been synonymous with loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or guaranteed by government agencies. But a broader QM definition could change that by creating more competitive private-label options.

Anticipated changes to the qualified mortgage rule will give lenders more options and force them to rethink their views on risk.

Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in a race to offer services and technology that help mortgage bankers raise cash from mortgage servicing rights.

Test your knowledge of the secondary mortgage market with this quiz of key industry abbreviations.

In a bid to cut time and costs from the mortgage process, Fannie Mae is testing whether appraisers can accurately determine a home's value without actually visiting the property.

Freddie Mac has quietly started extending credit to nonbanks that issue mortgages, a move it says will help the companies maintain access to a crucial stockpile of cash if their home loans go sour.

Fannie Mae's first-quarter profits were enough for it to rebuild its minimum capital buffer and pay the Treasury Department dividend after being forced to take a draw during the previous fiscal period.

In its latest effort to reach first time home buyers, Freddie Mac is launching a new 3% down payment program that casts aside a number of restrictions in its existing low down payment offerings.

If Freddie Mac's credit-risk transfer activities continue to grow, mortgage lenders could eventually see a reduction in the guarantee fees they pay to the government-sponsored enterprise, according to CEO Donald Layton.