The Lede

The Mortgage Bankers Association this week urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency to direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce their retained risk and that FHFA incorporate more explicit up-front risk sharing targets in the GSEs' 2016 scorecards.

NASHVILLE--MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, said GSE reform, which has stalled in Congress for the past several years, will emerge as a key issue in following the 2016 elections.

Zillow Inc., Seattle, said despite improvements in negative equity rates, underwater mortgages continue to hold the housing market back from full recovery, particularly in hard-hit areas. 

NASHVILLE--For the past couple of years, it's been good to be an independent mortgage banker.  

Scotsman Guide, Dec. 1, 2015--Whitman, Victor Delinquency rates for commercial and multifamily mortgages fell to new lows in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Tuesday.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1, 2015--Pleven, Liam For months, investors and executives have been waiting for shares of real-estate investment trusts to catch up to the broader stock market and reflect the value of the properties the companies own. They may have to wait at least a little while longer.

Bloomberg, Dec. 2, 2015--Scully, Matt Mortgage bankers are offering to take on increased default risk under a plan that would reduce the insurance fees they pay when their loans are bundled into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 4, 2015--Collins, Brian Issues with upgrading software and ensuring pricing accuracy to comply with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's "integrated disclosures" have been magnified in wholesale loan transactions.

HousingWire, Dec. 4, 2015--Swanson, Brena The Homebuyers Assistance Act, H.R. 3192, which passed the House in October by a vote of 303-121, has yet to make its way to the Senate and the president has threatened to veto it if it gets to his desk. The industry, including the National Association of Realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and more than a score of other trade associations, have been pushing the government to pass the bill.

HousingWire, Dec. 4, 2015--Lane, Ben Despite the fact that the federal government's Making Home Affordable program is currently set to expire at the end of next year, one Obama administration official says that the mortgage servicing rules that were adopted as part of the Home Affordable Modification Program may be sticking around--permanently.

Bloomberg, Dec. 3, 2015--Moore, Michael J.; Son, Hugh; Campbell, Dakin The Federal Reserve, which has said it may toughen capital requirements in future stress tests of U.S. banks, is open to relaxing another aspect of the annual exams at the request of some of the firms.

Washington Post, Dec. 3, 2015--Geffner, Marcie; Orton, Kathy Experts say the key to avoiding such problems is for borrowers to understand the full ramifications of a reverse mortgage on their children and spouses. If they want their heirs to inherent the home, they need to put mechanisms in place beforehand.

Reuters, Dec. 3, 2015 The Federal Reserve bought $4.138 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities in the week from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, compared with $5.974 billion purchased the previous week, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 7, 2015--Berry, Kate There are no easy fixes to Nationstar's myriad problems--including a plunging stock price and increased regulatory scrutiny--but Chief Executive Jay Bray says the turnaround starts with a commitment to improving customer service.

Mortgage Professional America, Dec. 7, 2015--da Rosa, Justin Independent mortgage professionals lack political sway the big banks enjoy, but that just means more unity is needed among the smaller players to improve their collective clout. "We are reaching a tipping point," said Mortgage Bankers Association past chairman Bill Cosgrove, CMB.