Ginnie Mae

The guarantor of mortgage-backed securities has been without a Senate-confirmed president for four and a half years. The vacancy makes it difficult for other government agencies to coordinate housing objectives, according to stakeholders.

The guarantor has for the first time proposed a risk-based capital requirement for companies not subject to other federal regulation. The industry says the plan, which would impose a heavy charge for servicing portfolios, could drive lenders away from government-backed programs.

Ginnie Mae is allowing lenders to securitize modified home loans with this extended term as the Biden administration works to make more housing options available for struggling borrowers.

The amount far surpassed that of any other servicer required to purchase Ginnie Mae-backed loans that were 90 days past due.

The Federal Housing Administration's move to insure loans with forbearance could help support homeownership opportunities constrained by the coronavirus if one change was made to it, trade groups said.

The Federal Housing Administration has provided struggling homeowners with payment flexibility and explored other measures. At the same time, the agency is mindful of protecting itself against downside risks.

Federal backing for firms facing a deluge of missed mortgage payments is still on the table despite recent comments by an official who questioned the need to help the industry.

At issue is whether the U.S. should step in now to save nonbank mortgage servicers to head off damage to the housing market.

Tenants have threatened to suspend payments during the pandemic to pressure officials into providing rental assistance, but the effects on multifamily loans would compound concerns about servicers' liquidity and, ultimately, lenders' performance.

Ginnie Mae will begin taking requests for assistance from issuers who, having exhausted all other options, are having trouble advancing borrowers' principal-and-interest payments to investors amid the pandemic.

The share of borrowers seeking payment relief rose more than tenfold as COVID-19 concerns grew and authorities encouraged the practice, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Ginnie Mae and the FHA provided temporary liquidity relief for mortgage servicers bracing for higher delinquencies, but the industry continues to pressure Treasury and the Fed to provide more comprehensive support.

Banks and fintechs are not taking undue risks in lending to new customers; Jefferies CFO Peg Broadbent succumbs to the disease at age 56.

With economists fearing high unemployment stemming from the pandemic, the housing finance system is grappling with how it will recoup lost revenue from delinquencies, forbearance plans and other tremors.

There's been chatter that investors are shying away from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities because Congress may not enact housing finance reform. Be skeptical of those claims.

Eric Blankenstein, who resigned from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in May after the discovery of his racially charged writings, was named acting executive vice president of Ginnie Mae.

While many lenders lately managed their business expecting reduced volume, now they get to capitalize on extremely low mortgage rates. But today's benevolent conditions will not always be with the industry.

A mortgage industry executive with ties to a firm penalized in a U.S. predatory lending crackdown is being considered by the Trump administration to run Ginnie Mae, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Treasury Department made clear in a much-anticipated report that it prefers Congress take up reform of the government-sponsored enterprises, but it also recommended steps that federal agencies could take without legislation.

The Federal Housing Administration is aiming to limit the share of borrowers who have been withdrawing money from the value of their homes.