Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

InHouse Inc. is working to abbreviate the time it takes lenders and appraisers to deliver the correct documentation to the government-sponsored enterprises. The company recently announced that it now offers users a faster, easier method of integration and compliance with the Uniform Collateral Data Portal. Providing technology services for banks, lenders, credit unions, and other mortgage originators, InHouse will help the companies it works with adapt to the UCDP in a matter of weeks.

The House voted to send a payroll tax extension bill into a bicameral committee Tuesday, increasing uncertainty over whether Congress will include a pay-as-you-go provision that would hike fees on lenders originating mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Senate version of the legislation passed earlier this weekend with stipulations that would raise mortgage fees on lenders with GSE loans by one-tenth of 1 percent, and extend the payroll tax for two months, according to news outlets.

A congressional investigation turned up evidence that Countrywide Financial Corp. lavished four members of Congress and an unknown number of GSE executives with discounted mortgages between 1996 and 2008, Rep. Darrell Issa said Friday. Issa addressed members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which he chairs, by releasing an open letter to the public. He did not disclose the names of any members of Congress implicated by evidence in the investigation.

Following his announced resignation two weeks ago, Rep. Barney Frank showed few signs of slowing by denouncing provisions that made it into a proposal that recently cleared the House Financial Services Committee. He referred prominently to a provision from the Private Mortgage Investment Act ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô drafted by Rep. Scott Garrett and passed by the House Financial Services Committee 18-15 ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô that aims to repeal the risk-retention rule from the Dodd-Frank Act and do away with the GSEs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit against former executives with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Friday over their alleged roles in securities fraud. The SEC suit purports that Fannie├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós executives underreported considerable exposure to forces in the market, with $4.8 billion in single-family loans on the books. For its part, the suit alleges, Freddie misled investors with claims that the GSE attached a different name to $43.3 billion in single-family loans in a report it filed publicly back in February 2007.

DataQuick released statistics this week that reveal a 4-percent year-over-year increase in California home sales. The analytics company offered up an account of resales in California in a report released Wednesday. Condominiums and resale home sales leapt from 34,087 in October to 31,403 in November last year, with sales in the Golden State still far below lows of 25,578 seen in 2007. The company said that mortgage payments typical of homebuyers averaged $931 in November.

Reform may be on the way for the housing finance system in the United States if a bill cleared by the House Financial Services Committee makes its way to the Senate. Rep. Scott Garrett hailed the passage of his legislation ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the Private Mortgage Market Investment Act ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô which cleared the committee by an 18-15 margin. The move by Garrett follows a similar push by Sen. Bob Corker, who advanced legislation to consolidate assets from the GSEs and create a Mortgage Finance Agency over the next 10 years.

Lack of action from the Fed on monetary policy, wrangling in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Capitol, and ongoing problems overseas helped push mortgage rates to new record lows this week. Finance Web site Bankrate.com recorded an all-time low for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which slammed into 4.19 percent, down from 4.24 percent. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac countered with rates for the benchmark loan that again fell to 3.94 percent, down from 3.99 percent from the week before.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac revealed its December outlook Wednesday, forecasting that U.S. economic growth would likely climb to 2.5 percent over 2012 and that mortgage rates would stay at record lows. The GSE also pitched ideas that housing activity will scale upward but fail to reach ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£robust├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø levels seen in years prior. The company said that mortgage rates would stay low, with 4 percent for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage leading the way recently.

Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday, the inspector-general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency portrayed the agency as one beset by failures to adequately monitor and validate controls for executive compensation, examinations, and more. IG Steve Linick referenced a recent report from his office that found the FHFA needs to improve by taking measures to independently validate executive compensation packages. Compensation approval methods proved controversial last month.