Panelists Outline Challenges to Releasing GSEs, Possibility of Guarantee

NEW YORK–“In any market system where you have some lack of clarity, there’s a price to that,” said Scott Ulm, CEO and Vice Chairman of ARMOUR Residential Reit Inc. “Undoubtedly, the more ambiguity you put into it, the higher the price gets.”

N.Y. Fed President John Williams Offers Economic Outlook

NEW YORK–John Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, offered an optimistic but measured view of the U.S. economy during a session at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Secondary and Capital Markets Conference.

Servicing Quote of the Week

“There were mixed results for mortgage performance in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the end of 2024. Delinquencies on conventional loans increased slightly, while mortgage delinquencies on FHA and VA loans declined.”
–Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis

IMBs Report Slight Production Losses in First Quarter

Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a pre-tax net loss of $28 on each loan they originated in the first quarter, compared to a net loss of $40 per loan in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to MBA’s newly released Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report.

Servicing Quote of the Week

“Accounting for both production and servicing operations combined, 58 percent of mortgage companies in MBA’s sample are profitable, but that leaves 42 percent who are still not yet out of the woods.”
–Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis

Mortgage Delinquencies Increase Slightly in First Quarter

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.04% of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey.