Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

Judge Royce Lambert dismissed lawsuits filed in 2013 by investors at Fairholme Funds, led by Bruce Berkowitz, and Perry Capital with regards to the government's "sweeping" of GSE profits into the U.S. Treasury. The investors believed that the diversion of GSE profits created a "windfall" for the government while short changing GSE shareholders.

Government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae recently confirmed two high-level personnel changes within the organization. Leslie Peeler, SVP in charge of Fannie Mae's National Servicing Organization, is leaving the GSE for a senior position with IBM's mortgage group. Last week, the GSE also confirmed the departure of COO Terry Edwards, scheduled for early 2015.

AEI's National Mortgage Risk Index measured 11.3 percent last month, little changed from July's index, the group said. As a stress test, the index measures the percentage of loans that would be at risk of turning sour in the event of an economic downturn. Though the index has come down in recent months, it remains nearly twice the acceptable level "conducive to a stable market," AEI said.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fannie Mae revealed that Terence W. Edwards, currently COO and EVP, has notified the company of his intent to leave sometime during the first half of 2015.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) monthly House Price Index picked up 0.1 percent from June to July, coming down after a revised 0.3 percent increase in June. For the 12 months ending in July, FHFA reported house prices were up 4.4 percent. As of the latest index, the national HPI is now 6.4 percent below its peak in April 2007 and is roughly in line with its July 2005 level.

An upward revision in GDP growth for the second quarter bolstered optimism at Fannie Mae for the rest of the year's economic track. The mortgage giant's Economic and Strategic Research Group put out its newest outlook on Tuesday, calling for accelerated growth following the most recent news of 4.2 percent annualized GDP growth in the year's second quarter. On the other hand, the housing market is still struggling to find any real traction.

The ongoing legal battle between the U.S. government and Bank of America over the sale of soured loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the financial meltdown continued last week as lawyers for the government argued against a motion to throw out a fraud verdict rendered against the bank.

New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Corporation (MIAC) announced the offering of a new $50 million per month mortgage servicing flow portfolio. The portfolio, which is made up of more than two-thirds Ginnie Mae and nearly one-third Fannie Mae loans, is being offered by a "well capitalized mortgage company that originates nationally," said MIAC, which is acting as the seller's exclusive representative on the offering. The seller will provide full representations and warranties for the loans included.

In a survey of mortgage lenders over the third quarter, Fannie Mae found 85 percent of senior executives believe it would be difficult for most Americans to get a home loan in today's environment, up from 81 percent in the second quarter. To compare, only 50 percent of consumers polled in the company's August National Housing Survey said they think securing a mortgage would be difficult. Lenders were also more sour on their outlook for purchase mortgage demand over the next three months.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury secretary for housing finance policy, explained that lenders are currently reluctant to make non-agency loans without first knowing how they'll rate on the market. At the same time, credit rating agencies don't rate mortgage pools until they see the actual loan tape.