NAFCU's complaint stems from a provision of the proposed rule that would require FHLB members and applicants to keep 1 percent of assets in home mortgage loans. Current members would also be required to hold at least 10 percent of assets in residential mortgage loans on an ongoing basis as opposed to just at the time of application, as the current rule requires.
Read More »Report: Fed Paid Record $98.7 Billion to Treasury in 2014
Preliminary unaudited results indicate that the Federal Home Loan Banks of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board paid a record amount of approximately $98.7 billion out of their 2014 estimated net income of $101.5 billion to the U.S. Department of Treasury, according to an announcement from the Fed on Friday.
Read More »FHFA Approves Merger Application for Federal Home Loan Banks of Des Moines, Seattle
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has approved the merger application for the Federal Home Loan Banks of Des Moines and Seattle that was submitted on October 31, 2014, according to a press release. The historic voluntary merger between two FHLBanks is subject to satisfaction of specific closing conditions the FHFA approval letter set forth, including the receipt of approvals by members of both the Des Moines and Seattle Banks.
Read More »Senators Ask FHFA to Revisit FHLBank Membership Requirements
Twenty-seven senators have signed a letter addressed to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt asking him to reconsider the stricter membership requirements for the Federal Home Loan Banks the Agency proposed in September. The changes to membership requirements outlined by Watt in a speech at the FHLBank Director's Conference on September 2 require members to hold 1 percent of their assets in home mortgage loans (HML) on an ongoing basis, whereas the previous rule requires members to demonstrate this only at the time of their application and not at any time afterward
Read More »FHFA Announces Strategic Plan for GSE Conservatorship, Regulation of FHL Banks
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced its strategic plan for the fiscal years 2015 through 2019, reflecting the FHFA's priorities as a regulator and conservator of government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as regulator of the 12 Federal Home Loan (FHL) Banks.
Read More »FHFA Recommends Revisions to Membership Eligibility for Home Loan Banks
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposed a rule on September 2 that would amend financial institutions' requirements for application and membership retention in one of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks.
Read More »FHFA Introduces Initiative to Protect Against Fraud
As an additional measure against fraud, the FHFA announced an initiative requiring Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan (FHL) Banks to notify the agency when an act of fraud is committed by an individual or company the regulated entities conduct business with. The initiative is called the Suspended Counterparty Program and will take effect August 15, 2012. The FHFA stated it is taking this additional step to ensure the regulated companies are not exposed to unnecessary risk from business dealings involving those who have a history of fraudulent conduct.
Read More »GSEs Will Continue Reporting Credit Losses: FHFA
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have and will continue to realize credit losses due to mortgages originated years before the conservatorship when the GSEs were deemed critical supervisory concerns, FHFA stated in its annual Report to Congress. In 2011, Fannie and Freddie borrowed $33.6 billion from Treasury, an increase from the year before when $28 billion was drawn. Of the $33.6 billion, $16.1 billion was used to fund dividend payments back to Treasury. The losses leading to the $17.5 billion drawn from Treasury were due to business decisions made by the GSEs in the pre-conservatorship days. Overall, the GSEs have drawn $187.5 billion from Treasury as of the end of 2011.
Read More »AIG Files Suit Against BofA While Opposition to Settlement Continues
American International Group Inc. (AIG) filed a lawsuit Monday against Bank of America claiming the bank's subsidiaries, Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, withheld information from its investors regarding loan quality. AIG hopes to secure more than $10 billion from BofA to recover losses resulting from the alleged non-disclosures. The insurance company accuses BofA of giving investors a false account of the performance of its residential mortgage-backed securities. BofA maintains that AIG is responsible for its own losses and rejects AIG's accusations of fraud.
Read More »U.S. Downgrade: How Will It Impact Housing Fundamentals?
Congress' last-minute accord to avert a default wasn't enough to save the United States' top rating from Standard & Poor's. The agency downgraded the long-term credit rating of the U.S. to AA+, a grade just below the AAA rating the U.S. had held for 70 years. Analysts were expecting a temporary spike in Treasury yields, which are closely tied to mortgage rate trajectories, but investors responded with a rush on Treasuries, pushing yields down 13 basis points. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks also had their S&P ratings lowered to AA+ on Monday.
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