Dodd-Frank News Center

Agencies propose amending swap margin requirements

This story appeared in Bank Digest.   

Five federal agencies--the Federal Reserve Board, Farm Credit Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency--are proposing to amend swap margin requirements to conform with recent rule changes that impose new restrictions on certain qualified financial contracts of systemically important banking organizations. The Swap Margin Rule was issued in November 2015 by the agencies and established minimum margin requirements for swaps and security-based swaps that are not cleared through a clearinghouse. 

The agencies' joint release said that under the proposed amendments, legacy swaps entered into before the applicable compliance date would not become subject to the margin requirements if they are amended solely to comply with the requirements of the QFC Rules. 

In addition, the proposed amendments would also harmonize the definition of "Eligible Master Netting Agreement" in the Swap Margin Rule with recent changes to the definition of "Qualifying Master Netting Agreement" in the respective capital and liquidity regulations of the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Comments on the proposed rule should be received within 60 days of its publication in the Federal Register.

OIG finds that conflicts of interest among Fannie Mae officers requires closer attention

This story appeared in Bank Digest. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Inspector General evaluated the FHFA's oversight, as conservator, of the Fannie Mae Board of Directors' execution of its responsibilities regarding potential conflicts of interest involving Senior Executive Officers in its new report, "Corporate Governance: Review and Resolution of Conflicts of Interest Involving Fannie Mae's Senior Executive Officers Highlight the Need for Closer Attention to Governance Issues by FHFA." 

The evaluation found failures, both by Fannie Mae's Nominating and Corporate Governance (NCG) and by FHFA, which created a weakness in Fannie Mae's risk management structure. Without enhancements to the NGC's oversight, there is a significant risk that the NGC will continue to fall short in exercising its governance responsibilities. The OIG made eight recommendations to FHFA to address these shortcomings. FHFA agreed with its recommendations.

 

FHFA releases 2018-2022 strategic plan

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                     

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released its "FHFA Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2018-2022," which reflects the agency's priorities as regulator of the Federal Home Loan Banks and as regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). According to the FHFA, the strategic plan sets forth three goals for the agency: (1) ensure safe and sound regulated entities; (2) ensure liquidity, stability, and access in housing finance; and (3) manage the Enterprises' ongoing conservatorships.

Foreclosure Prevention Report issued

This story appeared in Bank Digest. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued its Foreclosure Prevention Report for the third quarter of 2017. According to the report, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 41,465 foreclosure prevention actions in the third quarter, bringing the total to 3,972,689 since the Enterprises were placed into conservatorship in September 2008.                                 

Regarding the Enterprises' mortgage performance, the report said the serious delinquency rate remained flat at 0.95 percent at the end of the third quarter.

 

FHFA issues report on Enterprises' non-performing loan sales

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released its "Enterprise Non-Performing Loan Sales Report," which provides information on sales of non-performing loans (NPLs) by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), as well as post-sale borrower outcomes. According to the report, the Enterprises' NPL sales reduce the number of delinquent loans held in their inventories and transfer credit risk to the private sector. NPLs are generally one year or more delinquent.                                   

Among other information, the report provides the quantity and attributes of NPLs sold from Aug. 1, 2014, through June 30, 2017, and reflects borrower outcomes as of June 30, 2017, on NPLs sold through Dec. 31, 2016.

Latest Foreclosure Prevention Report issued

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued its Foreclosure Prevention Report for August 2017. According to the report, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 15,298 foreclosure prevention actions in August, bringing the total to 3,960,367 since the Enterprises were placed into conservatorship in September 2008. More than half of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.                                   

In addition, there were 11,234 permanent loan modifications in August, bringing the total to 2,109,381 since the start of the conservatorships. Regarding the Enterprises' mortgage performance, the report said the serious delinquency rate fell from 0.94 percent at the end of July to 0.93 percent at the end of August.

FHFA modifies streamlined refinance program, extends HARP

This story appeared in Bank Digest

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced modifications to the streamlined refinance program for borrowers with high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. In August 2016, FHFA announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) would implement a High LTV Streamlined Refinance program to provide much-needed liquidity for borrowers who are current on their mortgage but are unable to refinance because their loans have LTV ratios that exceed the Enterprises' maximum limits. In order to preserve the objectives of the Enterprises' credit risk transfer program, FHFA is establishing an eligibility date which makes the program available for loans originated on or after Oct. 1, 2017. In addition, to ensure that high LTV borrowers who are eligible for HARP continue to have a refinance option, FHFA is also directing the Enterprises to extend the Home Affordable Refinance Program through Dec. 31, 2018.

Second Quarter 2017 Refinance Report filed

This story appeared in Bank Digest

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released its Second Quarter 2017 Refinance Report, which shows that more than 356,000 refinances were completed in the second quarter of 2017, compared with approximately 510,000 in the first quarter. FHFA reported that nearly 9,700 homeowners refinanced their mortgages in the second quarter through the HARP program, bringing the total number of HARP refinances to almost 3.5 million since inception of the program in 2009.

Latest Foreclosure Prevention Report issued

This story appeared in Bank Digest

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued its Foreclosure Prevention Report for May 2017. According to the report, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 15,683 foreclosure prevention actions in May, bringing the total to 3,914,668 since the Enterprises were placed into conservatorship in September 2008. More than half of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.

In addition, there were 10,769 permanent loan modifications in May, bringing the total to 2,076,345 since the start of the conservatorships. Regarding the Enterprises' mortgage performance, the report said the serious delinquency rate fell further from 1.01 percent at the end of April to 0.98 percent at the end of May.

FHFA issues report on results of Enterprises' annual stress tests

This story appeared in Bank Digest

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released a report providing the results of the annual stress tests Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) are required to conduct under the Dodd-Frank Act. According to the FHFA, the report provides updated information on possible ranges of future financial results of the Enterprises under severely adverse economic conditions.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires certain financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets to conduct annual stress tests to determine whether they can absorb losses as a result of adverse or severely adverse economic conditions.