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Warehouse Lines -- for Some
American Banker (03/19/10) P. 11
AMA Advisors President and CEO Peter Norden says the smallest and biggest mortgage lenders have access to warehouse credit, but providers demand at least $10 million in liquid net worth and up to $20 million for a $100 million warehouse line. However, Norden told a panel at the Regional Conference of Mortgage Banker Associations that only 45 companies meet the $10 million requirement and just 15 meet the $20 million standard.
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Fannie Spends Big on Foreclosed Homes
Washington Post (03/19/10) P. A20
Fannie Mae acquired 145,617 properties through foreclosure last year and spent about $267 million to maintain them. The mortgage finance giant also spent $182 million to repair about 38,000 properties. In the fourth quarter, loans in foreclosure rose to 4.58 percent of all mortgages; and loans with payments more than 90 days overdue increased to 5.09 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
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Republican Lawmaker Calls For Fannie, Freddie Privatization
NASDAQ (03/19/10) Boles, Corey
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas has unveiled legislation that would privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or place them in receivership. The two government-sponsored enterprises currently are under conservatorship after nearly folding in 2008. Since then, taxpayers have injected $75.2 billion into Fannie Mae and $50.7 billion into Freddie Mac. Hensarling's bill would end the U.S. government guarantee of the GSEs within two years of enactment.
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Storms Helped Keep Mortgage Rates Flat
Wall Street Journal (03/19/10) P. C8
Interest on 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 4.96 percent this week, barely up from 4.95 percent a week ago, while 15-year rates rose nudged up to 4.33 percent from 4.32 percent, Freddie Mac reported. Also for the week ended March 18, five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 4.09 percent from 4.05 percent; and one-year ARMs fell to 4.12 percent from 4.22 percent a week ago. Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said the virtually unchanged interest on fixed-rate mortgages was the result of the effects of recent snow storms on housing data.
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BofA Seeks to Pin Losses on Title Insurer
Los Angeles Times (03/19/10) Olivarez-Giles, Nathan; Lazo, Alejandro
Bank of America has lodged a lawsuit alleging that First American Corp. relied on home buyers to notify it of liens on their properties and other matters instead of performing traditional title searches. The shortcut was part of the QuickClose program, which BofA said did not require "title searches in connection with loans processed under the program." The suit claims the insurer has not made good on more than 5,000 mortgages it was supposed to protect, generating $500 million in losses.
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