New York Times, May 17, 2016–Goldstein, Matthew
Life may soon get tougher for private buyers of distressed mortgages from the federal government. HUD said on Tuesday that it would announce, possibly as soon as this week, a new set of rules governing the sale of mortgages formerly guaranteed by the government.
Bloomberg, May 17, 2016–Chiglinsky, Katherine
Radian Group Inc., the second-largest U.S. mortgage insurer, said Chief Executive Officer S.A. Ibrahim will step down at the end of next year after steering the company through the financial crisis as weaker rivals collapsed.
HousingWire, May 17, 2016–Lane, Ben
Americans are “paying more attention” to their debts in the wake of the financial crisis, and because of that increased attention, the share of consumers’ disposable income that’s going to mortgage debt is now at its lowest level in 35 years.
Associated Press, May 23, 2016
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the proof at trial was insufficient under federal fraud statutes to establish liability in connection with the “Hustle” mortgage program, which was run at the former Countrywide Financial.
Bloomberg, May 23, 2016–Scully, Matt
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Deutsche Bank AG inflated the value of securities in its mortgage-bond trading business and masked losses around 2013.
National Mortgage News, May 22, 2016–Sinnock, Bonnie
Ginnie Mae wants go one step further in its monitoring of issuers’ operations. It plans to model how the liquidity of companies that issue its mortgage-backed securities would look under stress, so it can troubleshoot more effectively. Mortgage bankers have been working to help Ginnie address the resource management concern and they are open to the idea of stress tests, said MBA President and CEO David Stevens.
Huffington Post, May 13, 2016–Grim, Ryan; Blumenthal, Paul
Old Washington hands involved say that nothing they’ve seen before in politics has prepared them for the mercenary campaigns the hedge funds are now waging.
Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2016–Light, Joe
Private shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have waged an intense lobbying campaign in an effort to drum up support for releasing the companies from government control and in the process restore some value to their shares.
HousingWire, May 13, 2016–Lane, Ben
Ending a legal quagmire that stretched back to 2011, investors are finally set to receive their money from an $8.5 billion settlement involving Bank of America, mortgages originated by its Countrywide unit, and the Bank of New York Mellon, which acted as the trustee for the mortgage bond investors.
Barron’s May 14, 2016–Stone, Amey
Mortgage real estate investment trusts have enjoyed a stunning three-month run for an obscure, underfollowed corner of finance. They are up 22 percent since mid-February, buoyed by stronger credit markets, a Federal Reserve that seems likely to keep rates lower for longer and a nod from bond king Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital at a recent hedge fund conference.
