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Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

Mortgage Risk Continues to Climb

Last month’s implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) qualified mortgage (QM) guidelines did little to stem the rise of mortgage risk across the nation, according to the latest from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The group’s National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI), a measure of loan performance under stressful economic conditions, increased to a reading of 11.8 percent in January.

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Feds Finalize New Mortgage Fraud Requirements for GSEs

Per new regulations finalized last week, the GSEs will be required to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) directly with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) rather than through their own regulator. Developed in coordination with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), FinCEN’s final rule is intended to provide law enforcement and regulators with a more complete picture of mortgage fraud than that offered by less detailed reports currently provided to FHFA.

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Mortgage Rates Up for Second Week

Freddie Mac released Thursday its Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending February 20, showing the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) coming up 5 basis points to a rate of 4.33 percent (0.7 point). This time last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.56 percent. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, said the change reflects market forecasts of what the Federal Reserve’s next move might be.

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Refinances to See Second Wind?

Noting that interest rates have spent most of the last two months on a downward slope (despite actions from the Federal Reserve to bring down asset purchases), Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft, says the refinance segment of the market may be getting its second wind, thus giving a lift to overall applications activity.

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Analytics Expert Discusses QM, ‘Manufacturing Risk’

Although the new qualified mortgage (QM) rules are expected to bring stability to loan manufacturing, the many nuances of compliance have resulted in doubling the cost of loan origination. This assessment was offered by Tom Showalter, chief analytics officer at Digital Risk. In an interview on Mortgage Markets Today, Showalter explained the threat of ""manufacturing risk,"" or the risk that key elements of data defining the loan are either corrupted or misrepresented.

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FHFA Watchdog Critical on GSE Aged Repurchase Fees

A recently released audit of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's handling of aged repurchase demands finds the enterprises' fee collecting has been inconsistent--or in some cases nonexistent. ""By inconsistently waiving, enforcing, and excepting late fees through 2012, the Enterprise missed assessing up to $284 million in late fees that are now unlikely to be collected–losses that taxpayers ultimately bore,"" the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Office of the Inspector General (FHFAOIG) commented in the report.

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Lehman Seeks Approval of Settlement with Freddie Mac

Lehman Brothers has reportedly sought approval to settle a $1.2 billion claim from Freddie Mac on money owed to the GSE before the company declared bankruptcy in 2008. Bloomberg reports Lehman is seeking approval on a settlement in the amount of $767 million. If approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the settlement would untie money Freddie Mac had fought to claim priority on, allowing Lehman to pay other creditors seeking to collect on their own debts from the company.

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Mortgage Rates Up in First Increase of 2014

Freddie Mac released Thursday its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) moved up to 4.28 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending February 13. In its own national survey, Bankrate.com recorded the 30-year fixed average at 4.48 percent, while the 15-year fixed rose slightly less at 3.53 percent. Analysts for the finance site said it was Janet Yellen's first testimony as the head of Federal Reserve that provided the week's lift.

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HARP Refinances Reach 3 Million

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) revealed in its latest refinance report that the GSEs have together reached a landmark three million refinances under HARP.

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Report: Fannie and Freddie Ignored Warnings on Potential Problem Loans

A new report from the Office of the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA OIG) finds the GSEs continue to purchase loans with red flags. After being directed to develop a uniform collateral data portal to assist in quality control, FHFA OIG says both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made billions in purchases last year despite warnings from the portal regarding underwriting standards, property valuations, and even the state of appraisers' licenses.

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