The rate of delinquent FHA loans has yo-yoed up over the past year as the program tries to improve underwriting and FHA servicers’ portfolios continue to grow. The Neighborhood Watch database, which counts loans in any stage of delinquency, shows...[Includes one data chart]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development complied with all rules and regulations in implementing the FHA’s version of the Home Affordable Modification Program but could have improved in certain early stages in the life of an FHA-HAMP loan, according to a recent report from HUD’s Office of the Inspector General. The FHA-HAMP combines...

On the heels of an AARP lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development relating to recent rule changes to the FHA’s reverse mortgage program, two House Democrats asked the agency to revisit its policies on borrowers’ surviving spouses. Longstanding HUD rules dating back to 1989 say...

Private mortgage insurers have been slowly staging a comeback, taking market share from the FHA over the past year. With the annual premium on FHA loans increasing Monday, several private MIs look to be turning up the heat. As of early this week, FHA mortgages with loan-to-value ratios at or below 95 percent will carry...

As the FHA’s capital reserve level dwindled in 2009 and the program’s share of the mortgage market gradually rose, Department of Housing and Urban Development officials repeatedly stated that ridding the program of bad lenders was...[Includes one graph]

Even as securitization market watchers in both the U.S. and the European Union attempt to reconcile each other’s new and evolving risk-retention rules, experts warn that an obscure provision of the Dodd-Frank Act could complicate...

Backed by a significant amount of collateral from older deals, the rebound in commercial MBS activity has taken on a different look than the pre-crash market, experts say. The “CMBS 2.0” market is expected...

The increasing return of private capital to the mortgage market that is expected to materialize post Dodd-Frank will provide plenty of opportunity for mortgage real estate investment trusts, with those investing in agency MBS likely to face a particularly low-risk environment, some leading financial services analysts suggest. gWe believe that the increased privatization of the mortgage market combined with the risk retention requirements of the equalified residential mortgagef will create...

Rating agency DBRS has clarified its position on several key provisions following a review of market comments on its exposure draft on third-party due diligence criteria for U.S. residential MBS. Not all firms can produce 36 months of payment history on seasoned home loans, particularly with respect to recently purchased home loans. Hence, verification of the pay histories of loans seasoned more than 18 months up to less than 36 months will be allowed...

Bank executives expect it will be a tall order for their firms to address the various tax implications of the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as the Basel III liquidity standards, particularly with regard to securitizations, according to a recent survey by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG. KPMG reported that 48 percent of respondents said their firms were still trying to figure out the tax implications of Dodd-Frank and Basel III, while 49 percent said...