Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently roiled the mortgage market with a post on X, writing “Fannie [Mae] and Freddie [Mac] will ALLOW lenders to use Vantage 4.0 Score with no current requirement to build new infrastructure (stays Tri Merge).” Not only is it highly unorthodox to be making huge policy decisions […]
Pulte’s tweet hands credit bureau an unfair edge Read More »
In 2023, Steve Thomas started a new correspondent lender, Futurewave Finance. His three decades in the mortgage industry include servicing as the senior managing director of mortgage capital markets at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, as well as time at Fannie Mae. From his time in the FHLB system, Thomas learned that community
Why Futurewave bets on bank-focused non-QM loans Read More »
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is proposing to repeal its fair lending, fair housing and equitable housing finance rule, stating it is looking to comply with Pres. Trump’s executive orders. Furthermore, the rule is duplicative, with the laws behind each portion administered by other agencies. But Jannell Byrd-Chichester, general counsel for the National Fair Housing
FHFA set to end equitable housing finance plans for GSEs Read More »
The government-sponsored enterprises’ exit from conservatorship could be unexpected and quick, the senior vice president of mortgage finance policy at the Independent Community Bankers of America said. While a methodical process may take place, he wouldn’t be surprised if the opposite happens, Ron Haynie said, speaking during an online presentation from Lenders One and the
GSEs could exit conservatorship fast, experts say Read More »
Barry Habib, long-time mortgage industry trainer and pundit who is the founder and CEO of MBS Highway, has been named to the Fannie Mae board. Prior to starting MBS Highway, Habib put out the Mortgage Market Guide. He was also an executive at several lenders, including Residential Finance, RPM Mortgage and Certified Mortgage. Outside of
Barry Habib added to Fannie Mae board Read More »
Rithm Capital’s investor lending operations will get a financial boost thanks to a new partnership to help fund the purchase of over $1 billion worth of loans. The New York-based real estate investment trust announced it had reached an agreement with an unnamed “large institutional investor” to fund the acquisition of up to $500 million
Rithm Capital inks $1.5B deal for investor loans Read More »
A HomeStreet Inc. division is shedding Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights ahead of the parent company’s merger with Mechanics Bank, which has not been active as an MSR investor. The Seattle-based HomeStreet Bank has agreed to sell the portfolio on Aug. 1. It had a principal balance of $794 million as of June 30. The
HomeStreet selling nearly $800 million in Ginnie servicing Read More »
Recent plans for a jointly owned government-sponsored enterprise entity that serves as a common securitization platform (CSP) for their bonds appear positioned as the most likely way to achieve monetization goals the Trump administration has for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Even before Common Securitization Solutions repositioned as U.S. Financial Technology experts had identified the
Why FHFA may bet on CSP to reform Fannie, Freddie Read More »
The FHFA’s nod to VantageScore 4.0 — and silence on FICO’s rival 10T model in a recent X post — has reignited a bitter fight over the future of mortgage credit scoring. A B of A Global Research report dated July 11 on the agency RMBS market pointed to the imprecise language in the post
FICO challenges FHFA’s VantageScore decision Read More »
Lower gain on sale margins at JPMorgan Chase could be a negative sign for independent mortgage banker results in the second quarter, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report said. The drop in margins at both Chase and Wells Fargo came even as origination volume rebounded at both banks. It was up 44% from the first
Chase’s lower 2Q margins a negative for IMB earnings Read More »