FHA is cutting annual mortgage insurance premiums, effective March 20. Lenders are seeking operational clarity on loans already in the origination pipeline.

The change affects new loans endorsed on or after March 20. The last MIP cut occurred in early 2015, when FHA trimmed premiums by 50 bps for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.

Uncertainty caused by regulations and the complexity of calculating income and debt make DTI a poor metric to use in pricing a loan without the risk of lenders having to eat a new fee.

The TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rules require mortgage lenders to disclose prices within three days of an application. But to do so they have to rely on frequently faulty income and debt information.

By targeting price cuts at low-FICO score and high-LTV borrowers, the new pricing grids of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could increase market overlap with FHA.

Industry protests convinced FHFA to reverse course and almost eliminate the fee Fannie and Freddie charge to guarantee one another’s securities.

Real estate agents can now also act as loan officers on the same single-family mortgage transaction. But smaller lenders worry that larger competitors will wipe out referral business by hiring dual-purpose employees.

The FHA has clarified when individuals can perform multiple roles in a single FHA-insured transaction. Some believe it’s a market-altering move.

Trade groups say small and mid-sized independent mortgage bankers don’t need more federal supervision because they pose no systemic risk.

The timing of an FHA mortgage insurance premium cut could rest on how soon Congress passes a fiscal 2023 federal budget.