Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco is deliberating lowering the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress and the industry, however, are voicing a singular opposition, claiming such action would be detrimental to the housing recovery that is starting to take place across the country. Federal lawmakers and several industry groups sent letters to DeMarco over the past week, some even questioning the legality of such a move.

Fixed mortgage rates held more or less steady this week as Capitol Hill remained locked in debate over budgetary concerns. According to data in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.23 percent for the week ending October 10, and the 15-year fixed rate came in at 3.31 percent.

SunTrust Banks, Inc., is ponying up millions to resolve mortgage-related legal matters, including claims pertaining to the National Mortgage Settlement, and to settle mortgage repurchase demands from Fannie and Freddie. SunTrust says its third-quarter numbers will be negatively impacted by these resolution actions, resulting in an after-tax earnings reduction of $179 million.

FBR Capital Markets on Wednesday raised its projection for new mortgage volume in the third quarter to $400-$420 billion, largely due to more activity from special servicers as larger banks relinquish market share. FBR anticipates strong performance from these specialty servicers, partly because of their ability to effectually mine acquired portfolios for refinancing opportunities.

Ally CFO James G. Mackey will soon be departing to take an executive position at Freddie Mac. Mackey will join the GSE the week of November 11 to fill the role of EVP and CFO following the departure of Ross J. Kari, who announced last year his intent to retire in the second half of 2013.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) touted progress made toward building a new common securitization platform between the GSEs, saying the joint venture ""reached some important milestones"" Monday. Paperwork was filed with the state of Delaware, office space has been secured for the new entity, and executive recruiting is already underway.

In the latest of its consumer education videos, Zillow recently sat down with the Bipartisan Policy Center's (BPC) Barry Zigas to discuss the center's ideas for GSE reform and how they compare to current legislative efforts. After 16 months of research, hearings, and meetings with industry stakeholders, the BPC emerged with a plan for unwinding the GSEs and instituting a limited government guarantee on securities.

With Congress pondering (among other things) how best to reform the nation's housing finance system, Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) is urging lawmakers not to count smaller banks out when drafting new policies. ICBA warns policymakers to ""be careful not to create a new [secondary market] system that destroys liquidity for all but the few largest players.""

Two more companies are in the clear with Freddie Mac following agreements on claims related to loans that went south after they were sold to the GSE. Wells Fargo has agreed to pay a total of $869 million to settle repurchase claims from Freddie Mac. The agreement covers approximately 6.7 million loans. Suntrust will pay the GSE a total of $65 million, covering approximately 312,000 mortgages.

Citigroup and Freddie Mac have reached an agreement to settle potential future repurchase claims on millions of loans sold to the GSE in the last decade. According to a release from Citi, the bank will pay Freddie Mac $395 million, all of which is covered by its existing mortgage repurchase reserves as of the end of Q2.