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Does the Industry, and the Borrower, Need A HARP 3.0? – Posted by Rob Chrisman – Stratmor Group 

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(HARP 3.0?) Expanding HARP to Prevent Defaults and Stimulate Economy - BY: ESTHER CHO – …a new HARP 3.0 would break down barriers preventing millions more from refinancing. … Overall, Zandi said the broader economy, taxpayers, and homeowners, who are expected to save $2,500 to $3,000 a year, will benefit from refinancing. Though, Zandi does acknowledge a loss for one segment: investors in mortgage backed securities. “While the agencies would lose some interest income on their $1.2 trillion in mortgage securities and whole mortgage loans, under reasonable assumptions that would be offset by lower default rates on refinanced loans,” he said. … – DS News

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Senate Proposal to Revise HARP 2.0 Nets Industry Backing – BY: KRISTA FRANKS BROCK – The M Report

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Bill to Expand HARP Gaining Traction – By Michael Kraus – Total Mortgage
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Nationstar Mortgage Rises From Ashes Of Mortgage Mess – By MARILYN ALVA, INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY
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Bank attorneys prep for RMBS working group showdowns - By Jon Prior – Housingwire  

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NY Mortgage Trust issues stock to buy Fannie, Freddie bonds – By Justin T. Hilley – New York Mortgage Trust ($6.60 -0.33%) is offering four million shares of common stock as part of its investment strategy to acquire agency residential mortgage-backed securities. NYMT began targeting investments in multi-family commercial mortgage-backed securities and RMBS in 2011 backed by pools of mortgage loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. The loans include interest only and inverse interest only securities and agency RMBS backed by adjustable-rate or hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage loans. – Housingwire

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Analysts: Single Agency MBS Doable; Should Look Like Fannie’s – By Yali N’Diaye – (MNI) – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulator’s goal of creating a single mortgage-backed security is achievable, analysts say, and the best way to go might be to make it look like Fannie Mae’s MBS. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said in March it will "develop and finalize a plan by December 31, 2012 for the design and build of a single securitization platform that can serve both Enterprises and a post-conservatorship market with multiple future issuers."
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Letter May Aid Covered Bonds’ Inclusion in Indices - By Bonnie Sinnock – A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission no-action letter issued in response to a Royal Bank of Canada request among other things opens the door for U.S. dollar-denominated covered bonds’ inclusion in indices investors use to track returns, according to Fitch. – National Mortgage News
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Zillow’s forecast for Case-Shiller House Price index in March, Zillow index shows prices increased in April -  by CalculatedRisk

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Negative Equity More Widespread Than Previously Thought, Report Says – … (Zillow) rolls out its new negative equity report, which shows, among other things, that nearly 16 million U.S. homeowners, or 31.4% of all homeowners with a mortgage, were under water in 2012. They owe $1.2 trillion more than the value of their homes. … it’s still higher than previous negative equity estimates, including the most-commonly cited one, from mortgage-data firm CoreLogic. … – WSJ Blogs
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44% of Cook County homes with a mortgage are underwater – By Mary Ellen Podmolik – Chicago Tribune – Almost 667,000 homes with a mortgage in the seven-county Chicago area were underwater on their mortgages in March — and 13 percent of those homeowners were also delinquent on their mortgage payments by three months or more. … according to real estate site Zillow’s negative equity report … 

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Is Schneiderman Already Starting the Blame Game Over the Mortgage Fraud Task Force Failure? – Matt Stoller – … So this isn’t a task force that’s going to put handcuffs on anyone significant, it’s a task force designed for public relations purposes. … – Naked Capitalism 
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Letter to the Editor – An alternative to Dodd-Frank – … Dana Milbank misconstrued my comments from a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing on JPMorgan Chase’s recent losses. During the hearing, I stated that we have gone down the wrong road with the Dodd-Frank law, not because I reject regulating financial institutions, as Mr. Milbank suggested, but because Dodd-Frank empowers government regulators to micromanage financial institutions with impractical, incomprehensible rules that continue to leave taxpayers on the hook for “too big to fail” banks. … – Pat Toomey (R PA US Senate) – Washington Post

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