The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has sparked debate in the mortgage industry by directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to explore whether cryptocurrency assets should be considered in loan underwriting. The potential move signals a significant shift in how digital assets might be evaluated in determining mortgage eligibility.
Shares of Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), the company behind the widely used FICO credit score, fell sharply after a major shift in the credit scoring landscape. The drop came after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they would begin accepting the competing VantageScore 4.0 credit model, ending FICO's long-standing exclusivity in government-backed mortgage underwriting.
Mortgage rates have edged higher for the third consecutive day, with the average top-tier 30-year fixed rate now at approximately 6.81%, up from 6.67% at the end of June. While this uptick marks a short-term reversal, rates remain lower than the peaks seen earlier in the summer.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently increased the amount of information they share about condominium developments—particularly those classified as ineligible for financing. While the move has been praised as a step in the right direction, many lenders say the enhancements still leave major gaps in transparency and usability.
Mortgage rates dipped to their lowest level since late April, driven by a rally in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and a softer-than-expected tone from the Federal Reserve. Bond markets responded positively to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments, which hinted at growing openness to rate cuts amid signs of labor market cooling.
The director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was questioned last week by the House Financial Services Committee about the agency’s response to COVID-19. In particular, Director Mark Calabria had to defend a fee the agency announced to recoup some of the costs associated with the pandemic.
Opinion-Editorial (Op-Ed) Disclaimer For NAMU® Library Articles: The views and opinions expressed in the NAMU® Library articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any official NAMU® policy or position. Examples of analysis performed within this article are only examples. They should not be utilized in real-world application as they are based only on very limited and dated open source information. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of NAMU®. Nothing contained in this articles should be considered legal advice.
Intercontinental Exchange completed its acquisition of mortgage technology firm Ellie Mae at the end of last week after receiving regulatory approval. “We are excited to begin the next important chapter in our journey to digitize the residential mortgage industry,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange.
Opinion-Editorial (Op-Ed) Disclaimer For NAMU® Library Articles: The views and opinions expressed in the NAMU® Library articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any official NAMU® policy or position. Examples of analysis performed within this article are only examples. They should not be utilized in real-world application as they are based only on very limited and dated open source information. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of NAMU®. Nothing contained in this articles should be considered legal advice.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed a new category of seasoned qualified mortgages (QMs). The bureau issued a notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) last week to request comments.
Opinion-Editorial (Op-Ed) Disclaimer For NAMU® Library Articles: The views and opinions expressed in the NAMU® Library articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any official NAMU® policy or position. Examples of analysis performed within this article are only examples. They should not be utilized in real-world application as they are based only on very limited and dated open source information. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of NAMU®. Nothing contained in this articles should be considered legal advice.
Homeowners originated an increasing volume of mortgage loans in the second quarter of this year, but buyers are starting to cool to the market potential. The New York Federal Reserve’s second quarter report on Household Debt and Credit showed that mortgage balances shown on consumer credit reports stood at $9.78 trillion on June 30. This was a $63 billion increase from the first quarter.
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Fannie Mae economists believe the housing market has already hit its pandemic-related bottom. Fannie said in its latest housing and economic outlook last week that the latest data points to continued improvement.
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Last week, FICO launched its Resilience Index to help lenders predict how resilient a person’s credit may be in the event of an economic downturn. FICO said the new index identifies borrowers that have more resilient credit during “an unexpected economic disruption,” such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. FICO noted that credit access tightens during down economies as lenders mitigate credit risk.
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Fannie Mae said its long-term outlook for the housing market is “cautiously optimistic.” On the one hand, purchase applications have rebounded since April, when the COVID-19 pandemic all but halted real estate transactions. Purchase activity plummeted 30 percent at its lowest point.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released updated documents last week as part of its transition away from using the LIBOR index on financial products, including mortgages. The bureau released an updated version of its Consumer Handbook on Adjustable Rate Mortgages (CHARM). Among the changes is removing references to LIBOR.
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Despite a global pandemic that has shut down much of the country’s economy, the process of removing the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) took a step forward last week. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) last week released a re-proposal for a new regulatory capital framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Fannie Mae extended temporary policies enacted due to COVID-19 just as new research shows increasing reluctance to jump into home buying. Last week, Fannie issued a Lender Letter to single-family sellers that provided updates to policies it enacted on March 31 in response to the pandemic.
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Written By: Stacey Sprain
As an FHA originator, processor or underwriter, it’s likely that in the ongoing foreclosure market you’ll run across a HUD REO loan at some point. The purpose of this multi-part article is to provide you with some useful information to help in your endeavors.