Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

President Obama's nominee to take the role of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director and lead the government's efforts to reform the housing finance system has pulled his name out of the running. Joseph A. Smith, Jr. has served as North Carolina's banking commissioner for the past eight years, and he was the White House's top pick to head the agency charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The passing of the Dodd-Frank Reform Act last summer was hailed as the end of ""too-big-to-fail"" and the end of corporate bailouts. But in a report to be presented to Congress Wednesday, Neil Barofsky, head of the group charged with overseeing the government's handling of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) says the ""too-big-to-fail"" problem has not been solved; in fact, it's gotten worse, thanks to implicit guarantees that came with the massive bailouts of companies such as Citigroup, AIG, and Bank of America.

The latest Case-Shiller figures released by S&P Tuesday signal home prices across the United States continue to weaken. Based on data through November 2010, the 10-city composite of the closely watched gauge was down 0.4 percent and the 20-city composite fell 1.6 percent from their November 2009 levels. Home prices fell in 19 of 20 major metros on a month-to-month basis. S&P's analysts say a double-dip in home prices could be confirmed before spring.

In November, Texas representative Randy Neugebauer sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) requesting a report from Acting Director Edward DeMarco detailing how much taxpayer dollars are being spent on legal costs for former Fannie and Freddie execs. A report released last week details just that, and the results are eye opening. Currently the bill sits at a hefty $160 million and counting.

Fannie Mae has issued a notice to its servicers, instructing them to postpone foreclosure proceedings for unemployed homeowners who are receiving help through Hardest-Hit Fund programs run by state housing finance agencies. According to the GSE's newly released directive, if a housing finance agency (HFA) notifies a servicer that a borrower has been approved for assistance, the servicer must not refer the mortgage loan to foreclosure or conduct a scheduled foreclosure sale for 45 days.

For decades the GSEs have made it possible for many people to achieve their homeownership goals by reducing the cost of credit and making it more readily available. But in light of the recent financial meltdown, banks and other corporations are calling for reform that they say the Dodd-Frank Act didn't cover. The government is set to release a report on the future of Fannie and Freddie in the coming weeks, but market participants have low expectations for a definitive solution in the report.

The nation's largest bank reported this morning that it lost $2.2 billion in 2010. During the fourth-quarter period, Bank of America posted a net loss of $1.2 billion, which included a goodwill impairment charge of $2.0 billion in its home loans and insurance division. Had it not been for this charge, the company says it would have earned $756 million in the fourth quarter. The company called 2010 a year of ""necessary repair and rebuilding."" Bank of America is the only one of the 'Big Four' to report a loss.

Michigan-based VanDyk Mortgage Corporation has selected the G/SERV platform from GCC Servicing Systems, a provider of mortgage servicing technology and solutions, to fulfill the mortgage banker's loan servicing needs. VanDyk, which has closed more than $5 billion in mortgage loans since 1987, selected GCC based on a referral from a fellow lender and the company's expertise with Fannie Mae loans. In 2010, that lender increased its servicing volume by 75 percent.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors said Tuesday the company has appointed E.J. Kite to the newly created position of SVP of information management. A mortgage technology veteran with 26 years' experience, Kite is responsible for leading Wingspan's expanding technology infrastructure, reporting and analytics capabilities, and integration of the specialty servicer's supporting software tools. Kite joins Wingspan from Fannie Mae and previously spent 20 years at Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday said it has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to work in coordination with FHFA and HUD to consider alternatives for future mortgage servicing structures and fees for single-family mortgage loans. The current compensation plan is typically based on a minimum servicing fee that is a part of the mortgage rate, which FHFA says decreases flexibility for the servicing of non-performing loans.