Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

Servicers have been ordered to institute a clear resolution process for consumer complaints. Accountability when it comes to dealing with distressed borrowers has become a central focus of mortgage servicing reform, but an audit conducted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency's inspector general found that the GSEs' regulator is itself lacking in this area. The report says the agency has let complaints alleging fraud, abuse, and improper foreclosures slip through the cracks with no oversight of their resolution. FHFA says it will take actions to remedy the issue.

Oklahoma-based a la mode announced this week that a second major technology provider has selected the company's Mercury Network to ensure compliance with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP). Lender Processing Services' LSI division is the latest to sign on to a la mode's system. Last week, the company said CoreLogic has also chosen its Mercury Network for appraisal management that meets the GSEs' requirements.

Fannie Mae announced Wednesday that the company has hired Susan McFarland to serve as EVP and CFO, effective July 11. McFarland will also take a seat on Fannie Mae's executive committee. She joins Fannie Mae from Capital One Financial Corporation, one of the top 10 banks in America, where she was EVP and finance and principal accounting officer, and led a team of 500 professionals.

Home prices in the U.S. rose in April for the first time since last spring, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Wednesday. The agency's House Price Index recorded a 0.8 percent seasonally adjusted increase between March and April - the first month-over-month gain since May 2010. The index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

MERSCORP, Inc., which operates the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) database, announced Tuesday that Bryan Kanefield has joined the company's executive leadership team in the newly created role of SVP and chief risk officer. Kanefield joins MERSCORP from Fannie Mae, where he was most recently a member of the senior leadership team responsible for building and managing key operational units of the Making Home Affordable program.

Oklahoma-based a la mode announced this week that CoreLogic chose to connect its ValuEdge platform with Mercury Network for receipt of the Native XML appraisal data needed for compliance with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's jointly established Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP). A custom plugin will connect CoreLogic with the Mercury Network of real estate appraisers. The plugin will run an extensive set of quality control rules against the report prior to delivery.

Fannie Mae announced Tuesday that it is beefing up incentives to encourage sales of its HomePath REO properties to owner occupants. Selling agents representing an owner occupant buyer will get a $1,200 bonus. At the same time, qualified homebuyers can receive up to 3.5 percent of the final sales price to put toward closing costs. Eligible offers may be submitted any time after June 14, 2011 but must close by October 31, 2011. As of the end of March, Fannie's single-family REO inventory stood at 153,224 properties.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued its third report to Congress Monday, detailing the regulator's 2010 annual examinations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs' losses last year totaled $28 billion, versus $94 billion in 2009. The amount of taxpayer support needed by the two mortgage giants also narrowed, but FHFA says both Fannie and Freddie remain ""critical supervisory concerns,"" primarily because of continuing credit losses from loans originated during 2005 through 2007.

According to a notice from Fannie Mae, all future foreclosures in Hawaii must be commenced as judicial foreclosures due to Hawaii's recently passed legislation, SB 651. In addition, the GSE directed servicers to dismiss and convert all pending Fannie Mae non-judicial foreclosures that have not proceeded to sale to judicial foreclosures. Some recent REO acquisitions may also need to be re-foreclosed due to potential title insurance issues.

Servicers using the XetusOne Loan Management System already exceed the minimum requirements for the Treasury Department's new guideline mandating a single relationship manager for Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) borrowers. Available via California-based Xetus, the system provides servicers with compliance through its Web-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform.