News

With Congress pondering (among other things) how best to reform the nation's housing finance system, Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) is urging lawmakers not to count smaller banks out when drafting new policies. ICBA warns policymakers to ""be careful not to create a new [secondary market] system that destroys liquidity for all but the few largest players.""

Two more companies are in the clear with Freddie Mac following agreements on claims related to loans that went south after they were sold to the GSE. Wells Fargo has agreed to pay a total of $869 million to settle repurchase claims from Freddie Mac. The agreement covers approximately 6.7 million loans. Suntrust will pay the GSE a total of $65 million, covering approximately 312,000 mortgages.

As the first government shutdown in nearly 20 years marches on, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is urging lawmakers to consider the impact that an ongoing shutdown will have on the housing market. The trade group warns that lenders processing FHA loans or loans requiring tax transcripts or social security number verification face long delays.

As most housing metrics turned around last year, one vital statistic stayed down: the homeownership rate. However, one analyst at Fannie Mae says low homeownership--when put in context with other data--might indicate a promising trend in sustainability; in particular, tight loan qualification standards should equate to new homeowners whose housing costs are much better aligned with incomes.

Zillow partnered with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Thursday to review eligibility requirements for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and respond to borrowers confused about the program. Meg Burns, senior associate director for housing and regulatory policy for FHFA, joined Zillow for a Google Hangout session to field questions from underwater homeowners and explain HARP's finer points.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will be accepting a bailout of more than $1 billion to make up for losses sustained from the agency's legacy books and its reverse mortgage program. Following reports last week that FHA's financial situation would require a Treasury draw in the neighborhood of the Obama administration's $943 million forecast, Commissioner Carol Galante revealed in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee that the agency is taking an appropriation of approximately $1.7 billion.

Citigroup and Freddie Mac have reached an agreement to settle potential future repurchase claims on millions of loans sold to the GSE in the last decade. 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 summer is over and with it the end of re-runs of (some of) our favorite shows. There might even be some original movies, not sequels or prequels. But, there’s one more re-run we have to endure but with a new twist: Republicans in Congress balking at increasing the debt ceiling and threatening a government shutdown when the federal fiscal year ends October 1 unless and this is the twist legislation passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President is tweaked, modified, changed, delayed or otherwise abandoned .

Continuing to respond to higher mortgage rates, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) slipped for the third straight month, dropping 1.6 percent in August to 107.7 the lowest level since April, the National Association of Realtors which compiles the index reported Thursday.

The nation’s economy grew 2.5 percent in the second quarter, slower than economists forecast, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday. Economists had expected the report the third in the series of monthly GDP reports by the BEA to show the economy had grown at a 2.