News

[ad_1] On Tuesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency revealed the much-anticipated conforming loan limits for 2022, with the baseline number jumping by 18% to $647,200. It’s the largest-ever annual increase in the size of loans eligible to be bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The figure, which is determined by a formula set by Congress, didn’t catch many nonbanks too off-guard. Back in October, a handful of nonbanks — PennyMac, Homepoint, United Wholesale Mortgage, and Rocket Mortgage — announced that they would all be upping their conforming loan limit to $625,000 for a one-unit property. Though the FHFA’s announced limits are 3% higher than the number that nonbanks were apparently coalescing around, several nonbank lenders moved swiftly to implement the new limits. On Wednesday, a day after the agency’s announcement, Homepoint, Guaranteed Rate and UWM all announced that the new limits were in effect. A spokesperson from UWM noted that the wholesale lender is honoring the new higher-than-expected limits and that any UWM loans currently in the pipeline that are not locked can be adjusted based on the new loan limits. Homepoint similarly stated that it would accept “conventional loan registrations and rate locks within the 2022 loan limits.” Although the baseline was higher than many lenders expected, it follows a year of incredible home price growth. According to the FHFA, single-family home prices in the third quarter jumped by 18.5% year-over-year across the nation. This marks the largest increase to the agency’s house price index, which tracks the average increase in home values, since the metric was introduced in 2008. In high-cost areas, the FHFA increased the ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties to $970,800, up from $822,375 in 2021. Meanwhile, for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the baseline loan limit will also be $970,800 for one-unit properties. The calculation used to determine the conforming loan limit is based on a formula established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA), which in 2008 set the baseline loan limit to $417,000. The regulation mandated that the baseline could rise only after home prices returned to pre-recession levels, which happened in 2016, resulting in the FHFA increasing the conforming loan limits for the first time in a decade. For high-cost areas, defined as areas where 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit, HERA dictates that the maximum loan limit is 150% of the baseline loan limit. The post Nonbanks quick to implement 2022 conforming loan limits appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] These Sakroots Metro Totes are so cute! Zulily has these Sakroots Metro Totes for just $29.99 today! Choose from five fun designs! These are regularly $80 and this is a great price for Sak! These would make unique gift ideas, too. Shipping starts at $5.99. But if you place one order today, the rest of your orders will ship for FREE through 11:59 p.m. PT tonight! [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] U.S. steps up fight against Omicron as variant marches across globe [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] As base effect wanes, inflation to harden to an uncomfortable 5.5-6% in December-March FY22, close to upper end of MPC’s medium-term target range. With elevated input prices, either margins will be further squeezed or higher prices will contain the consumption recovery in H2FY22 [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Former President Donald Trump Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders hoping to be made whole in Collins v. Yellen have a new champion: former President Donald Trump. In a Nov. 11 letter sent to Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, Trump wrote that, had he been able, he would have given former Federal Housing Finance Agency director Mel Watt the boot much sooner. Doing so would have allowed him to quicken the pace on releasing the two government-sponsored enterprises from conservatorship, he said. “From the start, I would have fired former Democrat [sic] Congressman and political hack Mel Watt from his position as Director and would have ordered FHFA to release these companies from conservatorship,” Trump wrote. “My Administration would have also sold the government’s common stock in these companies at a huge profit and fully privatized the companies. The idea that the government can steal money from its citizens is socialism and is a travesty brought to you by the Obama/Biden administration.” The letter is “strong, direct evidence of what was already clear from the public record: if the Trump administration had controlled FHFA two years earlier, the companies would be out of conservatorship and in private hands today,” said David Thompson, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. Attorneys for the plaintiffs submitted the letter, which was first publicly disclosed on the news website Real Clear Politics, to the court on Nov. 30. Paul and Trump did not return requests to comment. In June, the Supreme Court found the FHFA’s structure unconstitutional, and allowed the removal of the director at-will. The court remanded the question of whether there was any harm from the unconstitutional FHFA directors, and whether the plaintiffs would be entitled retroactive relief. It is unclear if the letter will sway the court in the plaintiffs’ favor. But it could be construed to show that harm was caused because the President was unable to remove Watt and install his own nominee until 2019. Trump’s letter closely aligns with at least one scenario the Supreme Court offered in its June decision. “Suppose, for example, that the President had attempted to remove a Director but was prevented from doing so by a lower court decision holding that he did not have ’cause’ for removal. Or suppose that the President had made a public statement expressing displeasure with actions taken by a Director and had asserted that he would remove the Director if the statute did not stand in the way,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote. “In those situations, the statutory provision would clearly cause harm.” Former President Barack Obama named Watt FHFA director in 2014. A 2018 bombshell FHFA inspector general report found Watt tried to “coerce” an employee, Simone Grimes, to have a relationship with him by dangling possible professional advancement within the agency. Watt was never disciplined, and completed his five-year term. In 2019, months after then-FHFA Director Mark Calabria had been sworn in, the agency reached a settlement with Grimes, who is now the CFO of Acadia Insurance. The terms of the settlement were not made public. Laura Wertheimer, the inspector general responsible for the 2018 report, has also been accused of abusing her power. She resigned this year after a watchdog report by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency found that she fostered a “culture of witness intimidation,” including through staff abuse and threat of retaliation. The report recommended her removal. The post Trump comes to the aid of GSE investors appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] These Personalized Kid’s Night Lights are so cute! Jane has these Personalized Kid’s Night Lights for just $26.99 shipped right now! Choose from lots of different designs. These would make such fun gifts! Psst! We love Jane! Looking for other great Jane deals? Check out our custom Jane page for more of our hand-picked favorite deals each day! [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] NASA astronauts replace faulty space station antenna during spacewalk [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Rao said China continues to buy from India. Last year China bought one million tonne, and the orders could be repeated this year. Bangladesh purchased around two million tonne from India last year and could come back for good quantities in January. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Fannie Mae is once again back in the credit-risk transfer market with a $984 million note offering through its Connecticut Avenue Securities real estate mortgage investment conduit, or REMIC. The recent offering, CAS Series 2021-R02, was slated to close this week and involves transferring loan-portfolio risk to private investors via a $984 million note offering backed by a reference pool of some 125,000 single-family mortgage loans valued at $35 billion. Fannie plans to bring one more CRT note offering to market this year. “Our latest deal [CAS Series 2021-R02] was met with high demand from a deep base of investors,” said Devang Doshi, senior vice president of single-family capital markets at Fannie Mae. “Subject to market conditions, we look forward to returning to market [in December] with our final deal of the year, CAS 2021-R03.” The recent $984 million note offering is Fannie’s second CRT transaction so far this year. In October, the agency made a $1.2 billion CRT note offering, CAS Series 2021-R01, backed by a reference pool of 246,836 single-family mortgages valued at $72 billion. Prior to restarting CRT offerings this year, the agency had backed away from the market for a time — with its prior CRT transaction closing in March 2020. “When they do a credit-risk transfer transaction, it’s taking risk from that huge bucket [the reference loan pool] and selling off most of the credit-risk pieces,” said Roelof Slump, managing director of U.S. RMBS at Fitch Ratings. “Fannie Mae had taken a brief hiatus until recently reengaging in this (CRT) market.  “We’ve been quite active on the Freddie Mac side and expect to rate Fannie Mae’s Connecticut Avenue Securities Trust Series 2021-R02 credit-risk transfer securitization closing in early December.” Through a CRT transaction, private investors participate with government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie and Freddie in sharing a portion of the mortgage credit risk in the reference loan pools retained by the GSEs. Investors receive principal and interest payments on the CRT notes they purchase, but if credit losses exceed a predefined threshold per the security issued, then investors are responsible for absorbing the losses exceeding that mark. The CAS 2021-R02 offering represents Fannie Mae’s 43rd CAS transaction since the first offering in October 2013. Collectively those CRT deals involved some $49 billion in notes issued against single-family mortgage loan pools valued at $1.6 trillion. Freddie Mac also brought its first CRT deal to market in 2013 and since then “has cumulatively transferred approximately $81 billion in credit risk on approximately $2.5 trillion in mortgages,” a Freddie Mac press release from Nov. 15 states. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s efforts on the CRT front were bolstered recently by proposed changes to their capital-reserve rules that are being advanced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees the GSEs. The pending changes were lauded by at least one industry group, the Housing Policy Council (HPC), which represents many of the nation’s leading mortgage originators and servicers. Ed DeMarco, president of the HPC, recently wrote a letter to the general counsel of FHFA indicating support for the agency’s proposed regulatory-capital rule changes, which include reducing the risk-weight assigned to any retained CRT exposure from 10% to 5%. HPC and other stakeholders argued that the Trump-era rule’s leverage buffer was excessive compared to bank regulators. That modification of the capital-retention risk weight for CRT exposure, along with other adjustments to the capital-reserve requirements, “would make CRT transactions somewhat more economic” and “expand the risk-reducing and competitive benefits of CRT transactions,” DeMarco’s letter to FHFA’s general counsel states.  “CRT transactions lessen the systemic risk posed by the enterprises (GSEs) by reducing the concentration of that risk on the enterprises’ balance sheets and the volatility inherent in the credit performance of the enterprises’ guarantee business,” DeMarco wrote in the letter. “The Housing Policy Council will continue to be an advocate for broad housing-finance reform,” DeMarco said in a prior interview with HousingWire. “And that includes continuing to develop the credit-risk transfer market. “What FHFA has done the last couple months, signaling a renewed interest in seeing the CRT market develop, that’s really important, and we’re going to continue to promote that.” The serious delinquency rate for Fannie Mae has been in the 2% range throughout the pandemic. The post Fannie Mae revs up its credit-risk transfer machinery appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Here’s a great stock up deal on McCafe French Roast K-Cup Coffee Pods! Amazon has these McCafe French Roast K-Cup Coffee Pods (84 Pods) for just $24.61 shipped when you checkout through Subscribe & Save! That’s just $0.29 per pod shipped which is a great deal. Note: Once your order ships, you can go into your Amazon account and cancel your subscription if you don’t want recurring orders. [ad_2] Source link