Since the publication of an article from Pro Publica’s Jesse Eisinger and NPR’s Chris Arnold about alleged new analyses by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finding that principal reductions are good business, the growing community has been on the warpath around demanding that the FHFA, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, allow a principal write-down program [...]

NPR and ProPublica first reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have done the analysis and now stand ready to perform principal reductions for some borrowers. The catch is that the GSEs themselves have made this assessment, not their overseer, the FHFA and its acting director Ed DeMarco. New analyses by mortgage giants Freddie Mac [...]

An unusual technological quirk has delayed the Administration’s signature program for refinancing mortgages, and now it may lead to it becoming significantly narrowed from the original vision. The President announced a new initiative for HARP, the government’s mass refinancing program, all the way back in October. The idea was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac [...]

Over the past several weeks, Democratic lawmakers and allied groups have launched an all-out effort to get Ed DeMarco, the head of the FHFA, fired. They cite his resistance to allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in principal reductions on their loans as the main reason. This culminated in Barney Frank, the ranking [...]

House Democrats continue to push the Federal Housing Finance Agency to offer principal reductions on loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, one of the biggest things that can be done to further an economic recovery. In a letter organized by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, 116 Democrats, a majority of the caucus, urged FHFA Chair [...]

Bank of America, seeking to punish those who want to hold them accountable, will stop selling new mortgages to Fannie Mae, something that Fannie is supposed to be hurt by, I guess. Notice the lack of the words “Freddie Mac” in that last sentence I wrote. The latest move represents a major escalation in a [...]

Rep. Brad Miller has decided not to run for Governor in North Carolina. The Congressman, who was basically redistricted out of his seat, has done a fairly remarkable thing; he stated that the higher office position didn’t match his skill set: “After much consideration, I have decided not to run for Governor,” he said. “My [...]

Progressive groups have turned their guns on Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Ed DeMarco, arguing that he is holding back the housing recovery by refusing to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in principal reductions on the loans they own or guarantee. MoveOn.org sent out an email message to supporters today with [...]

I think I’ve made my position on the foreclosure fraud settlement pretty clear. Nevertheless, there’s a time to stew and a time to figure out how to make this work as well as possible. I think there are some tangible steps that can be taken, if not to improve the deal, then to improve housing [...]

JPMorgan Chase estimates that 500,000 new loan modifications will result from the Administration’s changes to the embattled HAMP program. I’m skeptical of this projection, but let’s hear it out: JPMorgan Chase [[JPM]] analysts said in a report Monday they expect 1.7 million additional borrowers could qualify for the program under the more lenient DTI requirements [...]

Yesterday’s on-the-record progressive media conference call with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan was clearly designed to allay concerns about the imminent servicing settlement (in turn it raised new issues, as I mentioned in this post). Donovan stressed that the real value of the settlement could be twice as much in principal reduction as has been reported, [...]