Tag Archives: FHFA

While servicers attempt to develop processes to implement the single point of contact (SPOC) requirement that is part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Servicing Alignment Initiative, technology companies have developed solutions to address the new regulation. Representatives from several of these companies spoke about the issue during a panel discussion at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo. They say collaboration between industry partners is key to overcoming logistical challenges.

While the Obama administration is still working through the specifics with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on how to open up refinancing to more borrowers, Keefe, Bruyette and Woods - an investment bank specializing in financial services - notes the most likely course of action is a moderate expansion of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) rather than a broad refinance program. Even a HARP expansion is likely to be modest at best, the research said.

President Obama's speech introducing his new Jobs Act included a pledge to refinance millions of home mortgages. Documents released since then by the White House and a key housing regulator reveal that the government-led refi push will indeed center around an overhaul of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The administration says it intends to remove the barriers that exist in the current program to allow more borrowers to qualify as long as they have a history of making their payments on time.

For the first time in over a year neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac are showing any downward movement in their seriously delinquent mortgage rates. Fannie's percentage of single-family loans at least three payments past due remained unchanged between the months of June and July at 4.08 percent. Freddie's increased one basis point to 3.51 percent. The Federal Housing Finance Agency says foreclosure prevention actions completed on loans held by the two mortgage financiers have declined for four consecutive quarters.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's decision to pursue legal action against firms that sold residential mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could potentially strain relationships between the GSEs and the companies named as defendants, many of whom still sell mortgages to Fannie and Freddie and service home loans held by the two mortgage financiers. Some of the financial firms have been forthcoming with pledges to aggressively defend themselves against the allegations and are disappointed by the fact that FHFA has taken to the courts.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is suing 17 financial institutions in an attempt to recover losses incurred by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from mortgage bonds purchased between 2005 and 2007. Based on initial reports, FHFA is looking to recoup as much as $45 billion. At least one financial analyst believes the matter will end in a settlement significantly south of that amount. Others say a more long-lasting impact may come in the form of higher mortgage costs for consumers.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is the second regulatory body to file a petition with the New York federal court that is reviewing Bank of America's $8.5 billion settlement proposal to Countrywide mortgage investors. FHFA has filed a Notice of Appearance and Conditional Objection in order to obtain additional information related to the proposal, but the agency says it sees ""no basis"" to raise a substantive objection to the settlement at this time.

Radar Logic plans to publish a response to the government's proposal to sell pools of foreclosed homes to investors to rent. In its RPX Monthly Housing Market Report for August, the company expressed concerns that the plan could negatively affect home prices in the broader market. Radar Logic believes the REOs sold in bulk to investors will come at lower prices than if they were sold individually - prices much lower than non-distressed sales, and these low prices could lead to low appraisals for other homes on the market.

In its August 2011 Budget and Economic Outlook update, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts the government will spend $35 billion less on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2011 than in 2010. The CBO estimates it will spend $5 billion on the GSEs in 2011 after having spent $40 billion last year. The CBO says the decrease is mostly due to lower projections in losses for the GSEs in upcoming years. This updated 2011 estimate is $6 billion lower than the CBO's previous estimate.

Home prices were 0.6 percent lower in the second quarter than in the first quarter of 2011, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The agency's index is calculated using purchase price information on homes backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Looking at this data over the past year, home prices have fallen 5.9 percent. That's the biggest annual drop recorded by FHFA since the second quarter of 2009.