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FHFA Releases Data on Non-performing Loan Sales

Preliminary Outcomes for Foreclosures Avoided Exceed Benchmark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/30/2016

​​​​Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its first report providing information about the sale of non-performing loans (NPLs) by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises).  The Enterprise Non-Performing Loan Sales Report includes NPL sales data through May 31, 2016 and preliminary outcomes for borrowers through December 31, 2015.  NPL sales reduce the number of severely delinquent loans in the Enterprises’ portfolios and the rules are subject to FHFA requirements that encourage NPL buyers to prioritize outcomes for borrowers other than foreclosure.  

“This report reflects the first available results since the Enterprises started to sell NPLs and since we put in place enhanced requirements for servicing these loans,” said FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt.  “The report demonstrates our commitment to transparency as we work to achieve more favorable outcomes for borrowers and for the Enterprises by providing alternatives to foreclosure whenever possible. Because the program is new, we have only preliminary data about outcomes to share, but we will continue to provide regular reports as we gain new outcome information,” said Watt.  

The report shows that, as of the end of May of this year, the Enterprises have sold over 41,600 NPLs with a total unpaid principal balance of $8.5 billion. 

  • The NPLs had an average delinquency of 3.4 years and an average current loan-to-value ratio of 98 percent.  
  • New Jersey, Florida and New York accounted for nearly half of the NPLs sold. 
  • A nonprofit organization, Community Loan Fund of New Jersey, was the winning bidder on five of six small, geographically concentrated pools sold by the Enterprises through May 2016 and is a service provider for the sixth pool.

The outcomes in the report are based on only the 8,849 NPLs that were sold by June 30, 2015 and reflect outcomes only through December 31, 2015. This preliminary outcome information suggests the following:   

  • NPLs where the home is occupied by the borrower had a higher rate of foreclosure avoidance (13 percent foreclosure avoided versus 6.2 for vacant properties).
  • NPLs on which the property was vacant had a much higher rate of foreclosure (21.3 percent foreclosure versus 8.5 percent for borrower occupied properties), which is viewed by FHFA as favorable in light on FHFA's belief that foreclosure of  vacant homes can improve neighborhood stability and reduce blight as the homes are sold or rented to new occupants.
  • To date, only 24 percent of the 8,849 NPLs have been resolved, 12 percent without foreclosure and 12 percent through foreclosure.
  • Compared to a benchmark of similarly delinquent Enterprise NPLs that were not sold, foreclosures for NPLs sold trended lower than the benchmark loans the Enterprises did not sell (21 percent of NPLs that have been with the new servicers the longest avoided foreclosure compared to 14 percent of the benchmark NPLs).

Future NPL Sales Reports are expected to be published twice each year. 

Link to Non-Performing Loan Sales Report

​Link to NPL page on FHFA.gov​ (Guidelines, etc.)


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The Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $5.7 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions. Additional information is available at www.FHFA.gov, on Twitter @FHFA, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Contacts:

​Media: Corinne Russell (202) 649-3032 / Stefanie Johnson (202) 649-3030
C​onsumers: Consumer Communications or (202) 649-3811​

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