Tag Archives: FHFA

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.

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.

In practice, Fannie and Freddie have dominated the mortgage finance market, prompting lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum to take action.

Morgan Stanley is the latest company to make peace with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over alleged misrepresentation of bad securities sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

For the entire year, industry numbers point to a total of $1.8 trillion in originations, well above what many analysts projected at the opening of the year. Given the current trend of declining mortgage rates and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's expected push to open credit availability at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FBR Capital Markets says we might see originations in 2014 push to $1.3 trillion or higher, depending on how the next few months play out.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) monthly House Price Index (HPI) slowed its upward march substantially in November, rising only 0.1 percent compared to October's 0.5 percent. November's increase marked the 22nd straight monthly gain in FHFA's purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index. As of the end of the month, the U.S. index was 8.9 percent below its April 2007 peak, resting at roughly the same level as it was in April 2005.

According to a market report from FBR Capital Markets, bank stocks managed to outperform compared to many others. FBR says the improvement stemmed from rising investor expectations in response to interest rates moving higher and the economy showing signs of improvement. "However," FBR says, "we believe most banks will not be able to live up to these expectations as loan growth remains weak, pressures on margins still exist, and mortgage banking results should remain relatively poor."

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Wednesday that it has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to delay implementation of planned changes to their guarantee fee (g-fee) structure.

After months of contentious debate, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) finally has a new director.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recovered nearly $8 billion last year in its pursuit of funds related to allegedly fraudulent loan sales to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.