The debate over the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continues to heat up. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released an unpublished proposal to DS News this week that advocates converting the two GSEs into government-chartered, non-profit corporations. Fannie and Freddie's own supervisory agency acknowledges that operating in conservatorship is not a long-term solution for the two companies, but the administration says it will not unveil its plan for the GSEs until 2011.
The industry has its eyes peeled for any indication that we've turned the corner on the housing crisis, and for good reason - markets around the country have been battered by plummeting property values, mounting foreclosures, and neighborhoods riddled with vacant homes. Any sign of recuperation is a welcome reprieve. But the experts at Lender Processing Services (LPS) caution that declaring the recovery has taken hold may be premature.
The administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is set to expire June 10. It's a central component of the government's foreclosure prevention efforts and is currently one of the only mortgage relief programs to help underwater borrowers. With the sunset date looming, several industry trade groups have joined forces to urge officials to extend HARP for another year, and they say a decision needs to be made quickly to prevent foreclosures on creditworthy borrowers.
Reversing a long historic trend, mortgage default risk for consumers with high FICO scores now exceeds their credit card default risk, Minneapolis-based FICO recently reported. The provider of analytics and decision management technology said this disturbing revelation creates unknown risk in lenders' credit portfolios, as well as counter-intuitive trends in consumer behavior.
| | |
DSNews.com
Comments
Post a Comment