GSEs

WASHINGTON — Industry and consumer groups are calling on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to reduce the loan fees that homebuyers have to pay on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranteed mortgage loans.

Fears about repurchase requests made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac persisted beyond the crisis, but those fears don't match actual repurchase numbers.

Fearing that housing finance reform has fallen off the congressional priority list, bank and housing trade groups sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt on Wednesday to draw attention to the issue.

MFA Financial has carved out an impressive niche for itself by buying re-performing and nonperforming residential mortgages and securities.

Several civil rights and community development groups wrote Tuesday to urge the Federal Housing Finance Agency to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is set to make the sales of nonperforming loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac more transparent, including providing information on trends at the individual pool level, according to a top agency official.

Banks have rushed to the exits when it comes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt securities. Federal liquidity rules seem to be prompting big banks to do so, but why small banks are unloading the bonds, too, is more of a puzzler.

FHFA Director Mel Watt also reiterated concerns regarding insurance companies and large bank members, saying that some Home Loan Banks have large exposures to a few individual members.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton appears likely to embrace a recent plan to merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government corporation if she wins the White House.

The June 25 launch, which will provide lenders with much more information about a borrower's credit history, will mark the first widespread use of trended data in the mortgage industry.