Secondary Market

A recent report revealed that the nation’s top grossing single-family rental markets are mostly noncoastal, Midwestern states, with Cleveland, Ohio, taking the top spot. At No. 2 and 3 were Detroit and Dayton, Ohio, respectively. Memphis and Toledo rounded out the top five.

Morgan Stanley has now completed 77 percent of its consumer relief obligations per its legal settlement with the State of New York. With the recent approval of nearly $200 million in credit, the organization has now satisfied $309.1 million or the total $400 million it owes. The settlement stems from a 2016 case regarding residential mortgage-backed securities.

A New York federal judge said that Wells Fargo must face litigation seeking to hold the bank accountable for billions of dollars in claimed investor losses as trustee of residential mortgage-backed securities, saying the investor funds more than met the pleading the standard. The plaintiffs, including BlackRock Inc, Pacific Investment Management Co, Prudential Financial Inc, and TIAA-CREF, can pursue breach of contract and conflict of interest claims related to 53 trusts, said U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

Fannie Mae recently released its Monthly Summary for February 2017. Fannie Mae’s gross mortgage portfolio decreased for at a compound annualized rate of 16.9 percent for the month, while the GSEs Conventional Single Family Delinquency Rate stayed much the same month-over-month.

The GSE no longer allows plywood to be used on homes in preforeclosure, however, this rule does not apply to Fannie Mae’s REO properties. As of March 29, servicers have 90 days to re-glaze/repair or clear board all unsecured and previously plywood boarded windows. Additionally, Fannie Mae will allow servicers seven days to secure a property after it has been found vacant, by re-glazing/repairing or clear boarding.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made headway on goals set forth in the 2016 Scorecard by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to the FHFA's Progress Report released on Wednesday. GSE efforts to improve credit access, assist borrowers, and reduce taxpayer credit risk were all noted in the agency's report. FHFA is currently soliciting comments on the Progress Report at FHFA.gov.

According to the GSE, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced additional enhancements to its requirements for sales of non-performing loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on April 14, 2016, that build on requirements originally announced in March 2015. These enhancements apply to the non-performing sale that was announced today.

The FHFA’s Credit Risk Transfer Report revealed a big uptick in GSE credit risk transfer for 2016. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac transferred a combined $18 billion in credit risk on $548 billion mortgages for the year. Risk was transferred via a variety of debt issuances, insurance and reinsurance programs, and front-end transactions.

The company has also increased the size of the Board from eight members to nine after the appointment of the newest Board member. Ronald J. Korn, a Director at Ocwen, has informed the Board that he will retire from the Director position this May. Upon Korn’s resignation, the size of the Board will be reduced from nine members to eight.

One of the world’s top rating agencies warned on Monday that sweeping or high-level changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could unleash a host of unintended consequences on America’s housing-finance system and the global banking sector—just as they enter ...