The Department of Housing and Urban Development has removed the FHA inspector roster to streamline inspection requirements for FHA single-family mortgage insurance. Removal of the list of approved inspectors recognizes the quality of inspections performed by certified inspectors and other qualified individuals, said HUD. HUD originally established the roster to standardize the inspection process for properties with FHA-insured mortgages. Prior to the roster, cities and states developed their own building codes, which had little uniformity or consistency with each other. Currently, the department abides by the International Residential Code (IRC), which is in use in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The International Code Council, which developed the IRC, also certifies combination inspectors (CIs) and residential ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service is seeking comment on a proposed rule that would enable more lenders to make combination construction-to-permanent single-family loans to borrowers. The new combination construction-to-permanent loan, or “single close loan,” allows approved lenders to close a new construction loan and receive a loan-note guarantee before construction begins. The loan expands low- and moderate-income borrowers’ access to affordable rural housing financing in areas with populations up to 35,000. The loan may be used to construct and purchase single-family homes, including manufactured homes and eligible condominiums. The amount covers purchasing a lot, reasonable construction administrative costs, contingency reserves, inspection fees, builder’s risk insurance, landscaping costs, and other authorized items, the ...

MBS and ABS issuers were busy in the second quarter of 2018, generating $435.64 billion in new securities, according to a new analysis by Inside MBS & ABS. [Includes three data charts.]

The mortgage industry this week continued to look for a fix to the VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan mess, which has imperiled roughly $500 million worth of government product that is now ineligible for Ginnie Mae securitization.

Ginnie Mae’s crackdown on certain issuers over loan churning – coupled with a backup in primary mortgage rates – has narrowed the prepayment speed gap between conventional and Ginnie-backed collateral, according to industry analysts.

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS fell to $223.2 billion in June, a slight decline from the month prior, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The easing of qualified-mortgage standards under the Dodd-Frank reform bill could be credit negative for nonprime residential MBS backed by loans originated by nonbanks, Moody’s Investors Service said. But an industry expert disagrees.

Non-agency MBS investors might not be aware of the differences in representations and warranties provided by issuers of new non-agency MBS, according to Fitch Ratings. In a recent report, the rating service noted that issuers are diverging from standard practices in terms of “full” rep-and-warrant frameworks.

A final rule from the Federal Reserve regarding single-counterparty credit limits looks a lot better to the securitization industry than the proposed rule. Industry participants had warned that the rule proposed in March 2016 was overly broad, complex and unworkable.

The Royal Bank of Scotland last week announced a multi-million dollar settlement with the state of Illinois to resolve the bank’s alleged misconduct in its marketing and sale of risky MBS leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.