Capital markets

The Financial Stability Oversight Council could determine that a broad range of mortgage companies should be subject to “heightened prudential standards,” said Andrew Olmem, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former senior economic adviser to the White House.

Upcoming changes to underwriting regulations, as well as the end of the QM patch, in addition to growing home values, all add up for this market to have a good year.

The volume of Ginnie securities issued in December marked the first time more than $80 billion has been issued in a month.

The buyout industry has about $3 trillion of unrealized value on its books, according to Preqin. And it’s tapping that to land loans for bolt-on deals, to refinance debt or bail out struggling companies in their portfolios.

Industry watchers make their wildest guesses (more or less) about developments in real estate finance that could rock the industry in the upcoming months.

The availability of financing hasn’t been an issue to date, but it still could be.

The deadline for inclusion in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities has been extended and an exception will be made for some participations.

Last year, smaller lenders were put at a slight disadvantage in terms of what they were charged in guarantee fees when they sold loans for cash.

The average per-loan profit margin remains incredibly strong, but the share of senior executives expecting it to fall has risen markedly.

Whether Ginnie issuance increases in the future may depend in part on the extent to which the Biden administration wishes to tap the FHA to promote affordable housing and homeownership.