Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

The latest in a series of proposed GSE reforms was announced on Thursday. Congressional Representatives John K. Delaney (D-Maryland), John Carney (D-Delaware), and Jim Himes (D-Connecticut) introduced housing finance reform legislation, aimed at winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and replacing them with a federally backed insurance program administered through Ginnie Mae.

Mortgage rates barely budged heading into the Independence Day weekend, keeping them below last year's levels. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) product was 4.12 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending July 3, down 2 basis points from the final June survey.

Freddie Mac announced a move Wednesday aimed at reducing the risk to the taxpayer associated with its credit exposure in the residential mortgage market. The Enterprise has obtained a number of insurance policies underwritten by a panel of “well capitalized insurers and reinsurers”.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Nationstar, a large mortgage processor with millions of mortgages in its portfolio, was temporarily suspended from buying the rights to home loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of concerns that the servicer was under capitalized.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed nearly 3.2 million foreclosure prevention actions since the start of the government's conservatorship of the two companies in 2008. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Foreclosure Prevention Report, 88,000 actions were performed in the first quarter of 2014 alone.

Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, shows the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) falling to 4.14 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending June 26, a continued slide from 4.17 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year fixed average was 4.46 percent, an increase of more than half a percentage point over the week prior.

In 2012, lender-placed insurance issues cost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a combined $360 million, and now the federal government may take legal action against servicers for charging excessive LPI rates, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of the Inspector General.

Freddie Mac released its monthly volume summary for May 2014, tracking information on the company's mortgage-related portfolio, securities issuance, risk management, delinquencies, debt activities, and other investments. The summary found that overall, Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio decreased at an annualized rate of 2.1 percent in May.

Despite a disappointing first quarter and a mediocre second quarter, Freddie Mac still expects the economy to improve throughout the second half of 2014. The company is, however, tempering its New Year's optimism. In its June U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook, Freddie offers a mid-year assessment that sees more humble growth in gross domestic product that mirrors the 2 to 2.5 percent growth that the economy has seen the past few years.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), functioning as the conservator for Freddie Mac, announced a settlement with RBS Securities, Inc. RBS will pay $99.5 million, resolving claims against RBS in FHFA v. Ally Financial Inc.