Economy

The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government billions of dollars but may increase the cost of housing.

Intensifying margin pressure could spur another wave of cost-cutting at nonbank mortgage lenders, unless other strategies, like consolidation or a mortgage servicing book that could increase in value, offset it.

The agency said the market for larger rental investors may not need additional liquidity from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

New investor appetite for mortgages over $1 million is motivating more nonbank lenders to offer super jumbo loans, often with weaker credit terms than traditional banks.

MountainView Financial Solutions is brokering a more than $3 billion package of Fannie Mae and government mortgage servicing rights originated primarily through third-party origination channels.

The regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises has substantial authority to intervene as a legislative stalemate continues.

The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled an FHFA oversight hearing for September in the wake of waste, fraud and abuse allegations.

The biggest impact may be to focus the administration’s efforts on selecting a nominee to succeed Director Mel Watt, whose term ends in January.

Fannie Mae’s treatment of a reperforming loan package helped drive up earnings by almost 41% to $4.5 billion, delivering a stronger dividend to Treasury ahead of a leadership change.

The industry group wants the FDIC to reject an ILC request from student lender Nelnet and impose a two-year ban on future applications.

Freddie Mac produced modest second-quarter results, reflecting a stabilizing business that CEO Donald Layton compared to a utility company.

Fannie Mae has issued securities supporting the transition away from the London interbank offered rate; something that could become more pressing for lenders if adjustable-rate mortgages were to become more prevalent.

Whoever succeeds current Director Mel Watt will have a front-and-center role in efforts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Nonbank mortgage-backed securities servicers increase their exposure to agency loans as the housing market distances itself from last decade's crash, according to Fitch Ratings.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is suspending its ongoing review of new credit scoring models and will instead move forward with creating a regulatory framework for providers of alternative credit scores to apply and be evaluated for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The federal bank regulators are considering roughly a dozen new rulemakings in response to the bill rolling back certain sections of Dodd-Frank.

A federal appeals court in Texas agreed with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders that the FHFA, led by a single director, violates the separation of powers.

Unusually for a debut transaction, the $329.7 million M360 2018-CRE1 will be actively managed: For the first 12 months after the closing date, funds from repaid principal can be used to purchase new loans, subject to eligibility criteria.

The collateral includes both QM and non-QM loans; however, certain loans are designated as QM even though the borrower’s DTI may be above 43%, due to a temporary exemption for GSE-eligible loans.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may need to tap into U.S. Treasury funds when they adopt CECL, a new accounting rule that makes companies set aside money upfront for expected loan losses.