MBS

Ginnie Mae followed through with plans to look more closely at secured debt ratios in its latest round of new and revised issuer requirements.

President Trump has signed the Protecting Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act, which aims to address concerns that rules around certain VA refinances were impeding those loans' inclusion in secondary market pools.

The more than $44 billion in new Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities that came to market in June marked the strongest month for the government bond insurer in more than two years.

The mortgage agency has hired Eric Blankenstein, who sparked controversy while at the consumer bureau over past revelations of racially charged writings.

Director Mark Calabria urged lawmakers to grant the agency chartering authority similar to that of bank regulators to boost competition in the mortgage market.

Prepayment speeds for loans included in agency mortgage-backed securities were up approximately 20% both monthly and annually during May as the decline in interest rates boosted activity, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

The consolidation of the two companies' securitization platforms into a single bond market became official on Monday.

The launch of a combined securitization platform for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is meant to ease the transition to a new housing finance system. But questions remain about how the mortgage sphere will adapt to the single security.

The investment research firm plans to merge DBRS' ratings business with its existing Morningstar Credit Ratings Service.

Prepayments tied to repeated VA loan refinancing activity have had an adverse effect on Ginnie’s mortgage securities that persists despite countermeasures. The government bond issuer is making new plans to address the impact.

The Government Accountability Office called on Ginnie Mae to undertake four reforms to its operations, citing concerns regarding the ongoing shift in size and capitalization of mortgage-backed securities issuers.

Investors can now exchange certain existing Freddie Mac bonds for to-be-announced uniform mortgage-backed securities in preparation for the full launch of UMBS next month.

Alarmed about continued high nonmarket-based prepayment rates, Ginnie Mae is requesting input from lenders on how to make the mortgage-backed securities it guarantees fairer to investors without hurting borrowers.

Freddie Mac exchanged existing bonds from its portfolio for mirror certificates for the first time, completing a key test that is central to the creation of a uniform mortgage-backed security.

Mark Calabria, who could be confirmed as early as this month, is expected to focus on changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservatorships to let the mortgage giants keep more of their profits.

The new regulation, codifying requirements already in practice, is meant to help the mortgage giants prepare for the adoption of a uniform security in June.

Without the ability to issue unsecured debt nearly as cheaply as U.S. Treasury bonds, Freddie Mac could not afford to repurchase defaulted loans from MBS, Freddie CEO Don Layton said.

The New York and Israel-based investment management startup selected the initial collateral using machine-learning decisions; AI will also be used in determining when to sell consumer loans in the portfolio or buy additional assets.

Ginnie Mae has restricted loanDepot's ability to securitize Veterans Affairs mortgages because of apparent churning of recent originations.

After 10 years of conservatorship, the new year could finally usher in big steps toward housing finance reform.