Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae's book of business decreased at a compound annualized rate of 1.7 percent over the month of June, slower than the previous month's rate of 2.4 percent but continuing a streak of decreases that has persisted all year so far. Year-to-date, Fannie Mae's book of business has declined at a compound annualized rate of 2.2 percent.

A new $2.5 billion GSE mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio has hit the market. MountainView Servicing Group, acting as exclusive sale advisor to the MSR seller, unveiled the portfolio, which includes both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. According to MountainView, the portfolio is made up of 94 percent fixed-rate and first-lien product with an average loan size of $226,161.

A federal judge has ordered Bank of America to pay nearly $1.3 billion in penalties over a fraud case decided last year. The case revolved around a lending procedure referred to as the "High-Speed Swim Lane, "which prosecutors say was designed to churn out loans as quickly as possible with little regard for risk.

According to the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) latest National Mortgage Risk Index, the share of home purchase loans at risk of going sour in the event of an economic downturn fell nearly half a percentage point last month to 11.44 percent. According to the group, the risk value of loans securitized in Fannie and Freddie's portfolios fell slightly to 5.8 percent, while the risk index for FHA slipped to 23.6.

Despite an anticipated pickup in economic growth and housing recovery in the second half of this year, Fannie Mae expects the economy to grow at just 1.5 percent overall this year. Fannie revised its previous estimate of 2.1 percent growth for 2014 after a disappointing start to the year.

Credit standards at large lenders appear to be loosening somewhat, while criteria at small and mid-sized lenders appear to be tightening, according to a new survey from Fannie Mae. Lenders that reported tightening credit standards most often stated "changing regulatory requirements" as the rationale for their stricter standards.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a draft for new eligibility requirements for private mortgage insurers who insure mortgage loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The agency is seeking comments on the draft and will accept input through September 8.

Representatives John K. Delaney (D-Maryland), John Carney (D-Delaware), and Jim Himes (D-Connecticut) introduced Thursday new housing finance reform legislation aimed at winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and replacing them with a federally backed insurance program administered through Ginnie Mae.

Looking ahead to the next 12 months, 46 percent of Americans polled expect home prices to rise, Fannie Mae reported in its latest National Housing Survey. That share is down from 48 percent in May and 50 percent in April. On average, respondents anticipate a home price change of 2.4 percent, down half a percentage point from the previous two surveys and the lowest forecast since January, when news of a slowdown in price gains affected attitudes.

On Wednesday, the Urban Institute (UI) issued a report finding that, based on the latest numbers, Ginnie's book of business is now at $1.5 trillion—a rate of growth that has tripled over the last seven years. What this means is that at its current rate of growth, Ginnie Mae will soon surpass Freddie Mac as the silver medalist in the single-family mortgage securitization platform game, behind Fannie Mae.