Tag Archives: FHFA

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.

In January, U.S. house prices rose a mere 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month. The previously reported 0.8 percent change in December was revised downward to a 0.7 percent change. The FHFA HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

According to the letter, the senators feel the CSP should have an “open architecture” that gives access to private industry and does not limit the CSP to been an appendage to GSEs. Opening the CSP will “enhance the ability for small and mid-sized lenders to access the secondary mortgage market and facilitate greater competition in this market going forward,” the letter said.

According to Ocwen, the portfolio consists of approximately 55,000 performing loans owned by Freddie Mac. The transaction is subject to approval by Freddie Mac and its conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as well as other customary conditions. Ocwen reported that it expects the transaction to close by April 30, 2015, and expects the loan servicing to transfer in May 2015.

At the start of a trial in Manhattan federal court, a lawyer for the Federal Housing Finance Agency said misrepresentations by Nomura and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, an underwriter, about loans underlying $2 billion (1.3 billion pounds) in securities exemplified broader misconduct by banks ahead of the crash.