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Tag Archives: FHFA

UBS Settles Mortgage Claims with FHFA

UBS announced Monday it has reached an agreement in principle with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to settle claims related to soured residential mortgage-backed securities.

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Agency Watchdog Criticizes FHFA for Failing to Establish Clear Goals

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA OIG) argued in a report released Tuesday that the FHFA should define specific performance goals for encouraging private participation in the mortgage credit risk market. For example, FHFA has not defined what it considers ""increased private sector investment"" nor determined how much it must raise guarantee fees to achieve this goal, according to the report. Similarly, FHFA has not set specific goals for its pricing initiatives with FHA.

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House Republicans Propose Act to Save Housing Finance

With criticism for the Obama administration and the shortcomings of the Dodd Frank Act, the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee announced Thursday a new plan to fix housing finance and end the bailout for good. The Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act (PATH) aims to end the federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac within five years; increase competition in the housing finance market; and offer consumers more choices when shopping for mortgages.

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Housing Group Files Suit Against FHFA

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is facing a lawsuit from a housing group for allegedly failing to uphold the GSEs' obligations to make contributions to a housing trust fund. The National Low Income Housing Coalition announced the suit Tuesday. According to the group, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have not met their requirements to pay into the National Housing Trust Fund. Law requires the enterprises to transfer a portion of the value of their new business into the fund, though it was suspended in 2008.

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GSEs Refinance Nearly 107K Loans Under HARP in April

In April alone, nearly 107,000 loans were refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), up from 99,000 in March, according to data FHFA. April's figure raises the total since the program's 2009 inception to 2.56 million. The program also continued to help a large share of underwater borrowers. From January to April, 44 percent of GSE borrowers who refinanced under the program had loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent.

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Fitch Examines Credit Risk for GSEs in Light of Risk Sharing Efforts

In recent months, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took important steps toward transparency with the release of historical credit performance data. The move also paved the way for credit risk sharing transactions as the FHFA looks to reduce the GSEs' role in housing finance. In an effort to help investors ""evaluate upcoming credit-sensitive securitization proposals from the GSEs,"" Fitch Ratings completed an analysis of the historical data in a recent report. Overall, the report determined loans originated from 2009 and beyond should outperform earlier vintages.

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Senators Introduce Bill to Replace GSEs in 5 Years

A bipartisan group of senators introduced on Tuesday legislation to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a newly created agency. Citing the overwhelming presence of the GSEs in today's mortgage marketplace, Sens. Bob Corker and Mark Warner unveiled a new piece of legislation designed to wind down the enterprises and rebuild the private mortgage sector. The legislation would dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac within five years of passage and transfer appropriate utility duties and functions to a ""different, modernized and streamlined agency.""

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FHFA’s Home Price Index Records Annual Gain of 7.4%

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a 0.7 percent increase in its House Price Index (HPI) from March to April. Year-over-year, the HPI was up 7.4 percent. The latest increase marks the 15th straight monthly price improvement in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index.

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MBA Calls for Aligned Credit Standards, Clear Repurchase Rules

A new concept paper from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) calls for the alignment of underwriting standards and clear representations of warranties as a major step in secondary market reform. In the paper, MBA suggests that FHFA set the parameters for acceptable underwriting criteria by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and then allow them to offer credit terms within that boundary. In addition, MBA calls for greater clarity in both of the GSEs' representations and warranties framework.

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FHFA: GSEs Rated as ‘Critical Concerns’ in 2012 Report to Congress

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) labeled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as critical concerns in the composite rating category for 2012. The assessment, which was part of the agency's fifth annual Report to Congress, was unchanged from the rating assigned in 2011. In the earnings category, the GSEs were rated as ""significant concerns,"" an upgrade from the ""critical concerns"" rating in 2011.

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