Tag Archives: FHFA

JPMorgan Chase is reportedly set to pay a record $13 billion to the government to settle questions surrounding its sale of bonds backed by poor loans. An unidentified source reportedly told Bloomberg that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon discussed the deal on Friday with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. According to that source, the discussed deal does not release the bank from potential claims of criminal liability at the insistence of Holder, who earlier this year remarked that some institutions may be "too big to jail."

August's rising mortgage rates continued to impact refinance numbers reported by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) latest data.

With Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco considering lowering loan limits for the GSEs, congressional and industry leaders are speaking out against such a plan, saying it poses a threat of hindering the housing recovery. In the last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, and 66 House representatives have all written to DeMarco, decrying the potential move and even questioning its legality.

Demonstrating the extent to which eligibility has opened up in the last year, a new survey from loanDepot.com shows more than half of homeowners who recently refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) had been turned down for the program previously. Reforms announced in December 2011 removed many restrictions from the program, granting access to previously ineligible homeowners. The expanded "HARP 2.0" removed the ceiling on eligible loan-to-value ratios--welcome news for the most severely underwater borrowers.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has taken the next step toward building a new common securitization platform for the GSEs with the filing of a certificate to establish a joint venture.

In the latest of its consumer education videos, Zillow recently sat down with the Bipartisan Policy Center's (BPC) Barry Zigas to discuss the center's ideas for GSE reform.

Meg Burns, senior associate director for housing and regulatory policy for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, joined Zillow for a Google+ Hangout session to field questions from underwater homeowners and explain the Home Affordable Refinance Program's (HARP) finer points. Hosting the call was Erin Lantz, Zillow's director of mortgages. Thursday's question and answer session represented one way in which FHFA is working to spread knowledge of HARP and get more borrowers involved.

Wells Fargo and SunTrust Mortgage are the two most recent companies to settle over claims regarding representations and warranties on single-family loans sold to the GSE.

According to a release from Citi, the bank will pay Freddie Mac $395 million, all of which is covered by its existing mortgage repurchase reserves as of the end of Q2. The agreement covers claims for breaches of representations and warranties on 3.7 million loans sold between 2000 and 2012. Jane Fraser, CEO of CitiMortgage, said the agreement "marks another important milestone in successfully resolving Citi's remaining legacy mortgage issues."

Mortgage rates continued their climb in August, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).