GSEs

Mortgage lenders can expand their businesses by catering to borrowers who aren't proficient in English, but doing so requires strategic recruiting and hiring and compliance with federal and state regulations.

Returning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to their status as privately owned public utilities is consistent with their mandate and makes the most policy sense.

Benefiting from higher loan guarantee income and lower derivative losses, Freddie Mac said Tuesday it had made $993 million in the second quarter, a dramatic reversal from its $354 million loss a quarter earlier.

President Obama called for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be eliminated, but Democratic policymakers attending the convention in Philadelphia appear resigned to the fact that Congress is unable to act on housing finance reform.

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae is making its housing counseling requirements more flexible so additional borrowers can qualify for its low-down-payment, affordable loan program called HomeReady.

Despite fears that increased compliance costs from new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules could drive community lenders out of the mortgage business, a watchdog report found that smaller companies remain active.

Regulators sought to limit improper contact between lenders and appraisers, but policies of the two mortgage giants encourage the kind of practices that contributed to the housing crisis.

Federal regulators warned mortgage servicers Monday that they will still expect them to offer loan modifications to distressed homeowners even after the Home Affordable Modification Program expires at yearend.

A private flood insurance bill passed by the House is making Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac uneasy because they fear it could lead to greater losses, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office.

Federal Housing Administration borrowers have been refinancing faster than expected, creating a drag on efforts to build up the capital reserves of the agency's mortgage insurance fund.