Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

A new mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio has hit the market, this one valued at more than $1 billion in unpaid principal balance. According to an announcement from MountainView Servicing Group, which is advising on the sale, the latest offering contains mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae, 97 percent of which are fixed-rate and all of which are first-lien loans.

Former OneWest Bank vice chairman Brian P. Brooks is joining Fannie Mae as EVP, general counsel, and corporate secretary, according to an announcement from the company.

According to a report released this week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), total refinance volumes at Fannie and Freddie came to 131,075 in August, up more than 11,000 from July as mortgage rates slipped slightly to an average 4.12 percent. While overall refinancing activity increased, however, the number of refinances completed through HARP fell again to a combined 14,066—accounting for about 11 percent of total volume compared to July's 13 percent.

In a speech on Monday, FHFA Director Mel Watt outlined the next steps the agency is taking to expand Americans' access to mortgage credit while ensuring that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are equipped to manage risk.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the two GSEs and their conservator are nearing an agreement with lenders that would set clearer definitions of when a loan is considered to be in breach of GSE selling requirements. The agreement could be announced as soon as next week, according to the publication.

William A. Ackman, head of Pershing Square, and Bruce Berkowitz, head of Fairholme Capital, have both added to their respective stakes in the two GSEs. In the last week of September, Judge Royce Lambert threw out lawsuits filed by Fairholme and Perry Capital against the government claiming that the sweeping of GSE profits into Treasury was illegal. The judge ruled the sweeping of the profits was legal under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act.

Hedge fund Perry Capital has appealed a judge's decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed last year over the sweeping of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's profits into the Treasury. The investors believe that the diversion of GSE profits created a "windfall" for the government while short changing GSE shareholders.

According to results from Fannie Mae's September 2014 National Housing Survey, Americans' optimism about the housing market recovered last month following declines in both July and August, with the share of respondents saying now is a good time to buy a home jumping 4 percentage points to 68 percent. The share of consumers saying they would purchase a home if they were going to move also picked up, increasing 2 percentage points to 66 percent.

Fannie Mae's chief economist, Doug Duncan, said the latest employment report supports Fannie's "forecast of solid economic growth," and is consistent with the company's September National Housing Survey, "which is expected to show a rebound in consumer expectations regarding housing after a couple of months of eroding confidence."

Fannie Mae's book of business shrank in August at its steepest rate in more than a year, according to the company's latest volume summary. The company reported a compounded growth rate of -4.0 percent in its book for August, putting its total value down to $3.1 trillion. It was the ninth straight month of contraction.