Honestly, I forgot the U.S. Treasury Department was buying mortgage-backed securities (MBS), since its program is much smaller than that of the Federal Reserve. Here’s an update from National Mortgage News (bold added): The Treasury Department has purchased over $200 … Read More
The House Financial Services Committee is expected to hold a hearing today on covered bonds backed by high-quality mortgages and consumer loans. Such bonds are used in Europe and some U.S. legislators think the bonds could help revive lending here, … Read More
The Orange County District Attorney said today it has charged five people, including four in Orange County, of grand theft or related crimes for allegedly defrauding banks of $3.6 million. A married Fountain Valley couple and a mortgage broker in … Read More
I didn’t hear any buzz this week as mortgage rates dipped as low as 4.5% with a one-point fee. Maybe its the holidays, or maybe there aren’t many people left who could benefit from a refinance unless rates fall even … Read More
The Wall Street Journal online reports on a talk by Brian Sack, the guy at the Federal Reserve who implements many of its market-tinkering programs. Sack’s group estimates the Fed’s $300 billion in Treasury purchases helped push down rates on … Read More
The credit crisis rolls on with this tidbit from National Mortgage News: Banks had to buy back $7.1 billion in defaulted single-family loans in the third quarter to reimburse mortgage investors, up from $1.9 billion in the previous quarter. Federal … Read More
I’m seeing more news reports quoting people who think the Federal Reserve should, once again, extend its purchases of securities backed by mortgages issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Fed is supposed to stop by March 31. The … Read More
Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co. was picked by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to help assess companies’ portfolios of residential mortgage-backed securities, reports Bloomberg. Here’s more: Pimco will help evaluate about 18,000 RMBS owned by U.S. insurers, the … Read More
It is still hard but not impossible to get a jumbo home loan — that’s a mortgage too big to be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In his latest column, Paul Muolo of National Mortgage News writes about … Read More
The Mortgage Bankers Association yesterday released a statement to a Senate subcommittee saying the system of turning loans into securities needs to be fixed and returned to its former glory. Securitization provides liquidity and disperses risk, according to the association. … Read More