Tag Archives: FHFA

The fact that the Enterprises remain in conservatorship of the FHFA has been a contentious topic among lawmakers and housing industry stakeholders in recent months. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac returned to profitability in 2012, but those profits declined substantially from 2013 to 2014. Recent reports, including one from the FHFA Inspector General, have warned that the profitability of the GSEs might not continue even though the conservatorship probably will.

The most recent FHFA index, released Tuesday, revealed that interest rates have increased slightly from February to March on several levels. The average interest rates on all mortgage loans for March jumped 3 basis points from February, from 3.77 percent to 3.8 percent.

Several leading mortgage insurance providers for the industry have announced that if the enhanced Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements (PMIERs) announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) went into effect today, they would be in complete compliance.

U.S. house prices overall rose 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to February, according to the agency’s monthly House Price Index report. Prices were up 5.4 percent nationwide compared to this time last year. The HPI is calculated by using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Following weeks of debate over whether the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) would be lowering its fees to guarantee mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the ...

In order to prevent these losses in the future, the GSEs moved to strengthen their financial requirements of approved PMI insurers, thus reducing overall risk. The new requirements will ensure that PMIs can meet their agreed-upon obligations regardless of current economic conditions or the marketplace.

Nomura and the Royal Bank of Scotland, also a defendant in the case, are the first two financial institutions out of 18 sued by the FHFA in 2011 that failed to reach a settlement and took the case to trial. FHFA sued the 18 institutions to recoup U.S. taxpayer costs following the government's $188 billion bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008, after which the government seized control of both Enterprises.

Bidders must meet qualifications set forth by FHFA. In early March, FHFA issued enhanced requirements for the buyers and servicers of Agency non-performing loans that call for bidders to identify servicing partners at the time of qualification and complete a questionnaire to demonstrate a record of successful loan resolution through foreclosure alternatives, since many of the loans being sold in these portfolios are deeply delinquent – two years or more delinquent in some cases.

The FHFA index showed the effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was down 12 basis points in February from the month prior. The February rate was 3.92 percent down form the January rate of 4.04 percent. The effective interest rate accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.

In late January, Judge Magaret Sweeney denied the government's attempt to stay court proceedings in the case, ruling that Fairholme could continue to pursue its lawsuit against the government, which was originally filed in 2013. The suit claims that the sweeping of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac profits into Treasury, a practice authorized by Congress in August 2012, equates to taking private property for public use without "just compensation," which is forbidden by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.