Economy

The Federal Reserve warned of significant risks of business bankruptcies and steep drops in commercial real estate prices in a report published on Friday.

While its net income declined annually for the second consecutive year, CEO Hugh Frater touted Fannie Mae’s resiliency in a record year for providing mortgage liquidity.

Meanwhile at Essent, more loans exited the inventory in January than in December.

The startup firm, backed by hedge fund capital, is pooling more than half of its managed railcar portfolio for the single-A rated transaction.

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.

The Biden administration could encourage the FHFA to increase the caps or restore exclusions for certain types of loans, which would boost overall volumes.

In a request for information, the agency sought feedback on how it should prioritize climate risks as part of its supervision of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of Jan.7-14

The FHFA and Treasury will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold more capital as part of the Trump administration's plans to release the companies from conservatorship. But it is unclear whether the incoming Biden administration will keep the mortgage giants on the same reform path.

A slower-than-expected rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and the threat of social unrest after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol could threaten the recovery, according to an American Bankers Association panel.

The transaction finances the loan portion of a $989.5 million acquisition of warehouse and distribution properties located in nine states.

Commercial real estate portfolios have held up better than expected during the pandemic. But rising delinquencies and fears of a delayed economic recovery are renewing questions about credit quality.

When the Uniform Residential Loan Application transition deadline hits on March 1, a data set within Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter Program, which many lenders have used for a host of functions, will no longer be supported and unprepared lenders could later experience disruption.

With limited plan removals due to the holidays, mortgages in coronavirus-related forbearance rose by 15,000, according to Black Knight.

The reference pools of mortgages supporting the credit-risk transfer notes sold by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were 'generally lower' in delinquencies per newly issued monthly reports, says DBRS Morningstar.

Several consumer advocacy organizations have urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to deny the online lender's application for a national bank charter, citing concerns about its lending and debt-collection practices.

Utilities earn a regulated return on investment in new stuff, so there are quantifiable gains to be made on greening their asset base.

A real estate firm focused on gentrifying neighborhoods is showing cracks after a group of its apartment buildings in New York’s Upper West Side and Harlem filed for bankruptcy.

About $430 billion in commercial and multifamily debt, more than half of which is held by banks, is maturing in 2021, with fresh capital needed to head off a tsunami of defaults.

In the waning days of the Trump administration, the agency issued a new legal theory of its power to let national banks evade state consumer protection laws. But some state attorneys general and consumer groups charge the federal regulator is attempting to sidestep restrictions imposed by Dodd-Frank.