Free Republic

Complete Headline: Obamacare Implosion Now? Since Obama Siphoned GSE Dividends To Prop Up, Can Trump Simply Halt 1st Qtr Sweep? Earlier this month, Harvard Ph.D. Jerome Corsi of InfoWars (@jerome_corsi) and a CPA "who worked for two years for a major U.S. accounting firm as an outside auditor for Freddie Mac," confirmed a 2012 scheme hatched by the Obama administration to funnel hundreds of billions in dividends from Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prop up the failing Obamacare program - by paying subsidies to insurers to remain in the system. [Snip] The conclusion reached by...

It doesn’t look like any GSE (housing finance) reform will be taken up in 2013. Partly because the leading contender, the Corker-Warner housing finance “reform” bill is so flawed. What does Corker-Warner do exactly? It shuts down two enormous mortgage insurance companies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and creates one gargantuan government insurance company (Federal Mortgage Insurance Corporation). Ah, nationalized mortgage insurance. This is particularly bizarre given that the FHA already exists as a national mortgage insurance agency for mortgages. Like single-payer healthcare systems (as in UK’s NHS), you take what the government decrees for you. But Obamacare is really...

There are two pieces of mortgage application index news today. First, Mel Watt (D-NC) was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new FHFA Director by a vote of 57-41. Only two Vichy Republicans, Bob Portman (VR-OH) and Richard Burr (VR-NC) voted for the confirmation of Mel Watt, a person with no regulatory experience and an affordable housing hawk. Watt will now be the “regulator” for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants in conservatorship with the FHFA. Why would President Obama nominate someone (and the Democrats confirm) with NO regulatory experience for perhaps the most important regulatory job...

There was a tremendous panel discussion today in the U.S. Senate hosted by the Federalist Society. The discussion concerned the proposed Corker-Warner bill to “reform” the housing finance system. The moderator was Troy Paredes and the speakers included Ronald Case, Bernard Weinstein and myself. Going forward, what should happen to the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Weinstein argued that they should be kept in place, but regulated to avoid Congress from forcing them to take on too much risk. Case gave an eloquent discussion of the necessity for the rule of law in whatever happens going forward. What...

As we all are painfully aware, the Affordable Care Act (aka, Obamacare) had a disastrous launch. Not to mention $940 million to CGI for a non-working website. Obamacare is so complex that it is likely unworkable … and unpopular once everyone gets a load of how their insurance premiums and deductibles have risen. obamacarecontractors Who in their right mind would design such a disaster? An overly complex mess that is unworkable. obamacare_chart_LGa The government, of course, and their cronies and apparatchiks. Like it or not, it is the insertion of government into the system that causes the problem. Just like...

Today, the US Senate held a hearing on “Housing Finance Reform: Powers and Structure of a Strong Regulator.” If I had been testifying, I would have thrown in a Medal of Freddom for Edward DeMarco, the acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But alas, the panel that spoke today were largely regulators and/or attorneys. But the most interesting aspect of the hearing was what happened AFTER the hearing. Tim Pagliara, the CEO of CapWealth Advisors and longtime fundraiser/donor for US Sen. Bob Corker (of the infamous Corker-Warner housing reform...

The U.S. Treasury Department said it expected to sell its remaining shares of General Motors by the end of the year, a plan that may leave taxpayers with a shortfall of about $10 billion on the automaker’s 2009 bailout. It must be nice to be bailed out by Uncle Sam. Most companies go through the bankruptcy process without the Federal government interfering with the proceedings. But what about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered mortgage giants held in conservatorship by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)? More to the point, why didn’t the failed giants go into bankruptcy instead?...

I attended an excellent panel discussion at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. today on GSE (housing) reform. The speakers were Mark Calabria (Cato), Alex Pollock (AEI), Arnold Kling (former Freddie Mac employee) and Josh Rosner (Graham-Fisher). All speakers agreed that the government guarantee should be eliminated on residential mortgages. Essentially, the US over invests in housing to the detriment of other aspects of the economy. Sure, we got a bubble in house prices and homeownership, but we also neglected building factories and the rest of the economy (choosing instead to import goods from abroad). Here is the result of...

Georgetown law professor, Adam Levitan, testified in the US Senate yesterday on “Fundamentals of a Functioning Private Label Mortgage Backed Securities Market.” 172476171-Levitin-Senate-Banking-Testimony-10-1-13 Levitan was a student of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau architect and former Harvard law school professor Elizabeth Warren (now a US Senator). Levitan is a believer in BIG government and everything is the private sector’s fault. “Relying on PLS (Private Label Securities) to serve as the main financing source for the housing market would be a high-risk gamble with the US economy. Instead, a hybrid public-private system with first-loss private capital backstopped by an explicit and priced...

The Federal Housing Administration, weighed down by losses on souring loans, will likely need a cash infusion from the U.S. Treasury for the first time in its nearly 80-year history when the current budget year ends, according to sources familiar with the matter. The agency, which offers private mortgage lenders guarantees against homeowner default, has nearly exhausted its reserves for the mortgages it backs, making it necessary for the government agency to turn to the Treasury Department for a cash injection. The FHA has never needed to tap the Treasury before because it has been able to take other actions,...

The mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have certainly had their share of problems and controversies. Both are in conservatorship with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) after suffering devastating losses. This comes after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac denying they have a government guarantee, but were bailed out by the Federal government after all. I never thought in a million years that Republicans, Democrats AND the Obama Administration would be on board with winding down the Democrat Darlings. But former Obama FHA Commissioner Dave Stevens summed it up nicely: “There is a bipartisan effort here that’s thoughtful and...

Welcome students to my Fall 2013 Fixed-Income Securities class. Since mortgage-backed securities are a big part of the US fixed-income market, let’s start with the largest players in the market: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae is located in Washington DC and Freddie Mac is located in McLean Virginia (hence puzzling why Virginia Senator Mark Warner (Democrat) is interested in winding down both enterprises. The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and the Federal Home Loan Banks) is the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). And FHFA has a watchdog, the Inspector General. So the watchdog has a watchdog....

The Federal government debt outstanding is almost $17 trillion. GFDEBTN_Max_630_378 (2) And that is the GOOD news! According to economist James Hamilton at University of California at San Diego, the value of notional off-balance sheet liabilities was around $70 trillion in 2012. We were already aware that unfunded liabilities are staggering, according to USDebtclock.org. usbtclcok The biggest items in this category come, of course, from Social Security and Medicare. If current policies are maintained, these off-balance sheet liabilities will require enormous sacrifices from future taxpayers. Better know as massive increase in taxes. Hamiton includes the implicit mortgage guarantees of Fannie...

Senators Corker (R-TN) and Warner (D-VA) have a new bill on what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Warner-Corker Draft Here are some of the key provisions of the draft bill: The draft bill would create the Federal Mortgage Insurance Company, an agency that would provide catastrophic reinsurance for mortgage-backed securities. The agency would be governed by a five-member board and replace the FHFA, the existing regulator and conservator of the GSEs. The FMIC would operate a mortgage insurance fund modeled on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s insurance fund. Guaranty fees and other payments made to the agency...

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Refinance Index increased 8 percent from the previous week to the highest level since December 2012. The gain in the Refinance Index was due to increases in both the conventional and government refinance indices of 8.8 percent and 5.7 percent respectively. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier to the highest level since May 2010. Here are mortgage purchase applications over the past 12 months. On a longer view, you can see that this is the highest level since 2010. Mortgage refinancing applications continue to rise as well....

Press Releases Media Contact:   Mark Folk (704) 383-7088 October 20, 1997First Union Capital Markets Corp., Bear, Stearns & Co. Price Securities Offering Backed By Affordable Mortgages Unique Transaction To Benefit Underserved Housing Market CHARLOTTE - First Union Capital Markets Corp. and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. have priced a $384.6 million offering of securities backed by Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) loans - marking the industry's first public securitization of CRA loans. The affordable mortgages were originated or acquired by First Union Corporation and subsidiaries. Customers will experience no impact - they will continue to make payments to and be...

<p>The punishment regime imposed on Cyprus is a trick against everybody involved in this squalid saga, against the Cypriot people and the German people, against savers and creditors. All are being deceived.</p>

Yes, we have yet another government mortgage modification program. This makes the 15th government mortgage modification program to go along with HAMP, HARP, the Attorneys General Settlement and their various contortions. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will offer a new, simplified loan modification initiative to minimize losses and to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. Beginning July 1, servicers will be required to offer eligible borrowers who are at least 90 days delinquent on their mortgage an easy way to lower their monthly payments and modify their...

What has happened since The Fed announced its QEternity? The New York Fed purchased $0 billion of agency (GNMA, FNMA, FHLMC) mortgage-backed securities last week as promised. The results so far? As of 9/28/2012, the Bankrate 30 year fixed rate mortgage average rose slightly after dropping on the QEternity announcement. The spread between the Fannie Mae current coupon rate (paid on new Fannie Mae MBS) over the 10 year Treasury yield has risen to a positive spread after dipping into negative territory last week. On the other hand, the spread between the Bankrate 30 year fixed rate mortgage average and...

You have to give Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner some credit for spin: today the Treasury announced “Further Steps to Expedite Wind Down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” The only problem is that the steps announced largely put the taxpayer at greater risk in order to protect holders of Fannie and Freddie debt. Essentially, the Treasury has amended its agreements with Fannie and Freddie so that the companies no longer have to pay a fixed dividend to the U.S. taxpayer, but instead “every dollar of profit” from the companies to the taxpayer. The problem is that the Government Sponsored Enterprises...