Fannie Mae is reminding mortgage servicers written approval is needed before any transfer of mortgage servicing rights can take place.
Furthermore, the government-sponsored enterprise now requires notification if a subservicer might be involved in the servicing transfer.
Gwen Muse-Evans, the Chief Risk Officer for Credit Portfolio Management at Fannie Mae sent a letter to servicers saying the new policy will come into effect on March 1, 2014.
"Fannie Mae is updating its policy to require Fannie Mae’s prior written approval for all mortgage loans a master servicer transfers from one subservicer to another, from the master servicer to a subservicer, or from the subservicer to the master servicer," reads the letter from Muse-Evans.
The transfer of mortgage servicing rights is huge in housing finance right now. Sources tell HousingWire the GSEs, Fannie Mae in particular, are looking to slow the explosive rate of MSR transfers.
The business boomed for the GSEs in this quarter.
Combined, Fannie and Freddie Mac recently surpassed $10 billion in the transfer of MSRs. Together, they sold off more than $4 billion in late November. A few days before that, Interactive Mortgage Advisors lead the sale of $5.4 billion in mortgage servicing rights tied to Fannie Mae.
"Fannie Mae still owns those loans so, of course, maintains a vested interest in how they are serviced," a source close to the recent deals tells HousingWire.
