Issuance of Ginnie Mae single-family mortgage-backed securities dropped 5.6% in November as refinances hit their lowest level in more than three years. (Includes two data charts.)

The Office of Inspector General says the Department of Housing and Urban Development could realize a $19 billion savings if it implemented them all.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and others in the mortgage lending and affordable housing communities commented on an FHA request for information on the challenges of small-balance mortgage lending.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to increase lender participation in its Section 184 program to meet increased borrower demand for housing financing on tribal trust lands.

The rule, which takes effect Dec. 21, differs somewhat from those that apply to other federally backed mortgages. 

All 10 of the top management challenges facing the Department of Housing and Urban Development last year, including mitigating counterparty risk to mortgage programs, remain, the HUD Inspector General reported last week. 

Leaving the choice of index to the noteholder could lead to volatile payment amounts and default for the borrower as well as problems for FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, the group says. 

FHA moves away from the Catalyst Electronic Appraisal Delivery module; the Mortgage Bankers Association asks the Senate Finance Committee to make the mortgage insurance premium tax deduction permanent; and more. 

Private mortgage insurers expect a boost in business from pricing changes in the conventional market. But an FHA mortgage insurance premium cut, expected sometime in the next several months, could swing business back to the government-insured market.

There’s work to be done in the remaining months of the current Congress, including funding the government. If that isn’t done by Dec. 16, the government could shut down, and that has spelled trouble for FHA and USDA originations in the past.