The Lede

NEW YORK--Senior officials from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered a cautiously optimistic forecast for the secondary mortgage market in the near future, despite projected declines in volume.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate rose again in April as numerous loans reaching their balloon date failed to pay off, reported Trepp, New York.

Morningstar Credit Ratings LLC, New York, said fewer distressed buying opportunities for institutional investors in single-family rental houses has led to a shift of securitized properties from the southwest United States to the southeast.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yesterday submitted their Duty to Serve Underserved Markets Plan to the Federal Housing Finance Agency for public comment.

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said seriously underwater U.S. properties rose slightly in the first quarter, reflecting parts of the country where negative equity remains "stubbornly high."

Several major retailers have announced large store closures in recent months. But there is little evidence that the closings had a direct effect on retail rents, reported Reis, New York.

NEW YORK--Senior officials from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered a cautiously optimistic forecast for the secondary mortgage market in the near future, despite projected declines in volume.

NEW YORK--Senior officials from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered a cautiously optimistic forecast for the secondary mortgage market in the near future, despite projected declines in volume.

National Mortgage News, May 5, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)While proposed corporate tax cuts by the Trump administration would largely be good for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they would be required to make an initial adjustment that could force a draw from their line of credit with the Treasury Department.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 8, 2017--Paul GoresGuaranty Bank, unable to ever recover from devastating loan losses stemming from the housing and foreclosure crisis, failed and was shut down by regulators Friday.

National Mortgage News, May 8, 2017--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)It's been nine years since the first of three major failures of private mortgage insurance carriers during the financial crisis, the result of widespread foreclosures that decimated capital reserves across the entire business.

National Mortgage News, May 8, 2017--Kate Berry (subscription)Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued proposals Monday to create pilot programs for loans on mobile homes, part of an ambitious federal effort to find creative solutions for underserved and rural housing markets.

Reuters, May 8, 2017--Olivia Oran, Pete SchroederThe U.S. government's review of a landmark 2010 financial reform law will not be complete by early June as originally targeted, and officials will now report findings piece-by-piece, with priority given to banking regulations.

HousingWire, May 8, 2017--Brena SwansonThe Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, by a majority opinion, ruled in MERS' favor in four lawsuits filed by the Recorders of four Pennsylvania Counties (Delaware, Berks, Bucks and Chester), locking in another victory for the company.

HousingWire, May 8, 2017--Brena SwansonJoseph Murin, former president of Ginnie Mae from 2007 to 2008 under former President George W. Bush, is pretty confident that the 115th Congress can finally tackle GSE reform, he told the Mortgage Bankers Association in this MBA Insights piece.

Reuters, May 5, 2017--Ann Saphir, Howard SchneiderThe Federal Reserve has interest rates right where they should be, but should start trimming its massive balance sheet in the second half of the year, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Friday.

Bloomberg, May 5, 2017--Matt Scully, Chris DolmetschIn the stock market, the tape never lies. In the bond market, sometimes traders do. That's the message federal authorities have been sending for years as they've targeted dubious practices on Wall Street bond desks.

Bloomberg, May 5, 2017--Matt ScullyThe Securities and Exchange Commission isn't planning to bring an enforcement action tied to Deutsche Bank AG's losing nearly $550 million on mortgage-bond trades, after the lender's own probe found no evidence of wrongdoing.

National Mortgage News, May 5, 2017--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Essent Group Ltd., the Hamilton, Bermuda-based parent of Essent Guaranty, reported first-quarter net income of $66.6 million. This was an increase of nearly 39% over the $48 million net income for the first quarter of 2016. Total revenue increased to $127.6 million from $102.5 million one year ago.

HousingWire, May 5, 2017--Matt SlonakerBy all accounts, our industry is moving well into the recovery. For some players, including the nation's banks and capital markets investors who have invested heavily in distressed loan portfolios, this is misleading.

American Banker, May 5, 2017--Paul H. Kupiec (subscription)As Treasury Department officials review the Financial Stability Oversight Council's designation process, they should also reexamine how the Dodd-Frank Act defines systemic risk.

National Mortgage News, May 2, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (Subscription)Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to pursue opportunities to provide liquidity to the single-family rental market despite opposition from mortgage and real estate industry groups.

Mortgage Daily, May 3, 2017Home lending activity was off at Ocwen Financial Corp. The West Palm Beach, Florida-based organization experienced a pre-tax loss of $30 million during the first quarter.

Mortgage Daily, May 3, 2017The National Credit Union Administration announced it collected $445 million from UBS to settle residential mortgage-backed securities losses at two failed corporate federal credit unions.

Mortgage Orb, May 3, 2017--Peter G. MillerThe mortgage interest deduction is less secure than fairy tale stories suggest; one can argue that it's within a hair's breadth of extinction.

National Mortgage News, May 3, 2017--Bonnie SinnockMid America Mortgage, Addison, Texas, purchased a $2.7 billion portfolio of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights that its subservicer, LoanCare, took possession of Tuesday.

Bloomberg, May 3, 2017--Laura J. Keller, Felice MaranzBank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said the Trump administration would harm U.S. businesses and undermine the financial system if it were to revive a Depression-era law separating consumer and investment banking.

National Mortgage News, May 3, 2017--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)From housing finance reform to the latest economic projections, here's a look at the biggest stories and best insights from this week's Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference in New York.

HousingWire, May 2, 2017--Ben LaneGoldman Sachs recently passed the one-third mark in its $1.8 billion consumer relief obligation that is part of the company's $5 billion settlement reached in April 2016 over toxic mortgage bonds, the settlement's monitor said in a new report.

Mortgage Daily, May 2, 2017A modest decline was recorded for monthly production of government-insured reverse mortgages, though there was a year-over-year rise.

Mortgage Daily, May 2, 2017Performance of securitized commercial real estate loans was slightly worse, though the outlook is stable. But late payments on industrial property loans soared, Morningstar Credit Ratings reported.

National Mortgage News, May 2, 2017--Austin Kilgore (subscription)Freddie Mac's serious delinquency rate dropped below 1% for the first time since 2008, lending credence to its efforts to expand credit access with low down payment mortgage products for consumers and representation and warranty relief for lenders.

Fox Business, May 2, 2017--Austen Hufford Mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac said it would send a $2.2 billion dividend payment to the U.S. Treasury, as the company posted a smaller impact from interest rates and spreads than in previous quarters.