The cap eliminated by Watt slightly more than a month ago was put in place three years ago by then-acting FHFA director Ed DeMarco as a compromise between satisfying the demand for a reduction in those executive salaries while the GSEs remained under conservatorship of the FHFA and maintaining adequate pay for line staff, according to Rood.
Read More »Judge Orders Treasury to Disclose GSE Conservatorship Documents in Fairholme Suit
Fairholme Funds made the request in court against the GSEs, claiming that their investor ownership stake was taken unlawfully from them by the government when the conservatorship occurred. Fairholme's efforts are a step toward getting their ownership stake returned to them.
Read More »FHFA Demonstrates Progress Toward Goal of Keeping At-Risk Families in Homes
More than half of the nearly 3.5 million foreclosure prevention actions completed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008 were permanent loan modifications, according to FHFA.
Read More »Are First-Time Homebuyers a Bigger Risk? Yes and No
The author called first-time homebuyers “inherently different from repeat homebuyers. They are younger and have lower credit scores, lower home equity, and less income and, therefore, are less likely to withstand financial stress or take advantage of financial innovations available in the market than repeat homebuyers.”
Read More »GSEs Partner With Industry to Form Advisory Group For Common Securitization Platform
The CSP is a technology and operational platform that is being developed by CSS, the companies said. This new development is a new venture of both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. CSP will perform many of the core back office operations for the Single Security, as well as most of the Enterprises' current securitization functions for single-family mortgages, on behalf of the Enterprises.
Read More »FHFA Seeking $13 Billion From RBS in Mortgage-Backed Securities Suit
The lawsuit against RBS in the Connecticut court involved the selling of about $32 billion worth of faulty mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the crisis. The bank had set aside about $3 billion for a possible settlement but reports surfaced that the FHFA might ask as much as $7.7 billion.
Read More »Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs Receive Multi-Million Dollar Pay Increases
The SEC outlined that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs' direct compensation will consist of an annual base salary of $750,000, fixed deferred salary at an annual rate of $2.05 million, and at-risk deferred salary with an annual target amount of $1.2 million, totaling $4 million. The at-risk deferred salary is based on performance and can be reduced. These amounts will be prorated for 2015 and both executives have the same structure that applies to other executives within the GSEs.
Read More »Average Guarantee Fees on GSE Loans Are Two and a Half Times Their 2009 Level
According to the FHFA report, the average level of guarantee fees charged has increased since 2009, when the report began. The guarantee fees are now two-and-a-half times their previous level from 2009 to 2014. The average fees increased from 22 basis points to 58 basis points from 2009 to 2014. From 2013 to 2014, average fees increased from 51 basis points to 58 basis points.
Read More »GSEs Combine for Q1 Net Income of $2.4 Billion
The average loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for new business decreased at both Enterprises as refinances surpassed purchase mortgage originations, which generally have higher LTV ratios. The report said that borrowers were more inclined to use the Enterprises’ refinance programs that focus mainly on deeply underwater borrowers, including the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).
Read More »Federal Court Rules HOAs Cannot Use ‘Super-Priority Lien’ to Foreclose on GSE-Backed Loans
Judge Gloria Navarro ruled in the case of Skylights LLC v. Byron that federal law prohibited a state-law HOA foreclosure from extinguishing a first deed of trust that is guaranteed by one of the government-sponsored enterprises.
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