Economy

Consumer sentiment about purchasing a home nears its record high as almost half of those surveyed said mortgage rates will stay at the current low levels, according to Fannie Mae.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to increase liquidity standards for nonbank conforming loan servicers, and at the same time raise the net worth requirements for those that also perform the function for Ginnie Mae.

With policymakers focused on ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservatorship, their regulator is reorganizing key units and adding staff to position itself for the long term.

The regulator said the investment bank and financial services company will help in the process of strengthening Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital standing for their eventual exit from conservatorship.

To guard against headwinds in the agricultural sector, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recommended that institutions consider the “overall financial status” of farm loan borrowers.

Eagle Re 2020-1 is backed by the performance of a reference pool of 156,065 loans with an outstanding balance of $40 billion.

FICO plans to release a new suite of scores that could reduce defaults on newly originated mortgages by 17%, but home lenders may not use it unless the government-sponsored enterprises do.

As officials prepare plans for the government-sponsored enterprises' exit from conservatorship, there's no shortage of speculation about what those plans might look like and how they might affect the mortgage industry.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is considering bringing back the idea of imposing stricter criteria for purchasing mortgages in areas where residential Property Assessed Clean Energy financing is available.

Apollo and Blackstone are displacing Wall Street amid a growing shift to large-scale direct lending.

Despite changes by the Federal Housing Administration, bankers remain reluctant to join the program for fear of legal liability. But that could change if it revamps servicing processes, experts say.

Former CFPB Director Richard Cordray and consumer advocates have designed a proposed state consumer agency that would subject more financial firms and fintechs to state oversight.

The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities ended 2019 at its lowest point in nearly 11 years, aided by increased issuance and the resolution of legacy transactions, Fitch Ratings said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to ask the legislature to revamp the current Department of Business Oversight and rename it the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, modeled after the federal CFPB.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria discussed the possibility of having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate under a consent order to allow the government-sponsored enterprises to be able to raise capital.

Getting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship has been an elusive goal. It will remain elusive, says DeMarco, in the absence of broader reform of housing finance, something that will require bipartisan support.

Consumer perception of the housing market ticked up slightly in December, as potential buyers remain bullish about making a home purchase in 2020, a Fannie Mae report said.

GMF’s $1.269.9 billion asset-backed transaction will be secured by a pool of loans that has a slightly lower weighted average FICO, higher collective LTV and longer average terms compared to prior deals issued via GMF’s securitization platform.

The FHFA’s attempt to move some of its balance sheet into the private sector could leave investors with greater liabilities than they were initially told.

Political uncertainty, sector-specific concerns as well as interest rate and labor trends may continue to depress commercial and industrial lending in the coming months.