Investigations by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission linger over Sterling Bank & Trust's non-QM program closed in 2019.

The new firm, based out of New York, matches investors and lenders and wants to enter the securitization space this year.

FHA will expand its loss-mitigation options to borrowers at risk of default even if COVID-19 wasn’t the cause of their economic challenges.

The Urban Institute has called on federal housing agencies to accommodate automated valuation models as their starting points, with human appraisers checking the accuracy of the data as a back-up.

The Office of Inspector General found that the bandwidth on HUD’s virtual private network couldn’t accommodate all the employees who needed remote access during the pandemic.

The National Consumer Law Center said FHA should reform its home equity conversion mortgage program to reduce the number of so-called preventable foreclosures.

The new proposal from USDA’s Rural Housing Service would eliminate the need for a second lien in new servicing options for non-performing home loans.

Members of the National American Indian Housing Council will meet with legislators next month in Washington, DC.

Ginnie announces new LMI ESG disclosures; HUD seeks comments on proposal to expand housing counseling tailored to tribal communities; HUD issues RFI on learning agenda supplement; Housing and Insurance subcommittee chair named; House committee disallows changes to veterans’ ability to testify virtually; USDA updates handbook.

Issuance of prime non-agency MBS nearly ground to a halt during the fourth quarter. For the full year, activity was down almost 60%. (Includes three data charts.)