At the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yesterday announced new standards that mortgage institutions would have to meet in order to sell loans to or service loans on behalf of the housing GSEs. The new standards include net worth, capital and liquidity requirements both for depository institutions and for nonbanks.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Friday issued an update on the development of the Single Security, a mortgage-backed security to be issued by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac via a common securitization platform.
After hearing from Federal Home Loan Banks that uncertainty about affordable housing goals is limiting their mortgage purchases from member institutions, the Federal Housing Finance Agency will revisit the goals, FHFA Director Mel Watt said today.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) today released a draft of a sweeping financial reform bill that would provide regulatory relief for banks of all sizes, tailor the regulatory structure for systemically important banks and begin restructuring within the Federal Reserve System and at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will participate in the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program and Home Affordable Refinance Program through the end of 2016, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt said in a speech on Friday in Los Angeles.
Fannie Mae today said that it earned net income of $1.9 billion in the first quarter. Like Freddie Mac’s report on Tuesday, Fannie’s profits rebounded slightly from a weak final quarter of 2014, but it was still well below the $5.3 billion earned in the first quarter of 2014.
Following a weak end to 2014, Freddie Mac today posted improved net income of $524 million in the first quarter — although the figure is still down significantly from the $4 billion the company earned in the first quarter of 2014.
Mortgage lenders need to watch out for repurchase risk, the future of Fannie and Freddie, disparate impact litigation and the non-Qualified Mortgage space.
Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s combined annual income dropped to $21.9 billion in 2014 from $132.7 billion in 2013, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported today.
The guarantee fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge will remain at current levels with “modest adjustments,” the Federal Housing Finance Agency said on Friday.