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KBW Research: Top Sellers Pay Less in G-Fees, But...

The top 10 sellers of mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pay 20 basis points in guarantee fees compared to 30 basis points for firms outside the top 100, according to a new report from Keefe Bruyette & Woods (KBW).

KBW's finding is hardly surprising, but the firm believes that in time there will be more g-fee parity between these groups – especially since the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is trying to put an end to volume discounts.

FHFA itself recently found that the 10 largest customers of Fannie and Freddie paid an average g-fee of 23 basis points in 2010. The next tier of Fannie and Freddie's customers (ranked 11 through 90) paid an average g-fee of 27 basis points.

KBW believes the recent 10 basis point hike in g-fees mandated by Congress (to fund the payroll tax break) “will have only a moderate impact on the mortgage market.”

For now, the g-fee hike will last just 60 days unless Congress strikes an extension of the payroll tax break using g-fees to fund it.

The firm added that, “However, we believe the Act does provide legislative authorization for further increases in g-fees for the GSEs. As GSE reform through Congress continues to prove elusive, some changes, albeit moderate ones, could come from FHFA.”

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