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.
Read More »Fannie Mae’s Book Sees Another Drop in August
Fannie Mae's book of business fell in August at a compound rate of 0.8 percent, a slower pace than -1.7 percent in July. Year-to-date, the book's average monthly growth rate was -1.1 percent as of the end of the month. The secondary market giant's gross mortgage portfolio continued to drop, though the rate of contraction was slower at 29.6 percent negative growth. Year-to-date, the average monthly growth rate for the portfolio was -23.1 percent in August. New business acquisitions were also down.
Read More »Citigroup, Freddie Mac Reach Agreement on Repurchase Claims
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."
Read More »August Business Sinks at Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolio shrank in August at the fastest rate so far this year. The portfolio contracted at a rate of 5.0 percent, turning down further from July's -1.7 percent growth rate.
Read More »Report: QRM Heightens Need for Evidence of Compliance
Originators and servicers are going to have to step up their documentation procedures as regulatory guidelines dovetail, financial services firm PwC says in a new white paper. "The age-old question asks: if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? A modern version to that question might be: if a lender in fact determines a borrower's ability to repay, or originates a Qualified Mortgage (QM), but cannot evidence it, has the lender complied with the Ability-to-Pay (ATR) or QM standards?" PwC asks.
Read More »Initial Jobless Claims At 7 1/2-Year Low
First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending September 7 plunged 31,000 to 292,000, the lowest level since March 2006, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected the number of claims to edge up to 330,000 from the 323,000 originally reported for the week ending August 31. The number of filings for that week was unchanged.
Read More »New Program Offers Small Midwest Lenders Access to Secondary Market
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago is teaming up with Ginnie Mae to provide member institutions with easy access to the secondary market through the Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) program.
Read More »Business Declines for Second Straight Month for Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae's book of business shrank for the second consecutive month in July as its gross mortgage portfolio continued to decline.
Read More »Commercial Real Estate Loan Prices Steady in July
DebtX, an online marketplace for commercial real estate (CRE) debt, reported that CRE loan prices were little changed in July. According to DebtX, the estimated price of whole loans securing the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) universe fell to 90.7 percent, down from 90.8 percent in June. Loan values were 88.1 percent on July 31, 2012. "The secondary loan market remains active and little changed in terms of price. Loan values are essentially right where they were a year ago," said managing director Will Mercer.
Read More »Freddie Mac Reports $5B Profit in Q2
According to Freddie Mac's quarterly earnings report, Q2 2013 net income totaled $5.0 billion, up about $407 million over the first quarter.
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