The integrated disclosure rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to shake up the mortgage industry months before it even takes effect. Particularly unsettled are settlement agents, who hope they continue to stay relevant in the new world of mortgage originations, but fear their role will be diminished if not rendered obsolete. “The lender is ceding less authority to the closing agent but they are still letting them close the transactions with greater supervision,” said one industry insider. “Could that change? There is a fear it might, but that is not how it is now.” Joseph Ventrone, vice president for regulatory and industry relations at the National Association of Realtors, put...
Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro has named one of his senior advisors, Ed Golding, as principal deputy assistant secretary temporarily in charge of HUD’s Office of Housing and the FHA. Golding is currently with the Office of Policy Development & Research and will assume his new post April 7. His appointment, however, has raised a few eyebrows on Capitol Hill because it had not gone through formal Senate confirmation, which some lawmakers say could get HUD in hot water. Golding, a former senior economist at Freddie Mac, is replacing...
The percentage of FHA borrowers refinancing their mortgage into another government loan has fallen through the floor the past two years, with all indications pointing to a rule change that prevents mortgage insurance from being cancelled over the life of the loan. Of course, increases in premiums haven’t helped either, but thanks to a January reduction in the annual FHA premium of 50 basis points, at least some of that business is coming back to the agency. “The life-of-the-loan issue is...
Most analysts are confident that private mortgage insurance companies will not see their ratings downgraded due to increased competition from the FHA as well as new capital requirements for private MIs proposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. But Zacks Investment Research, a research firm that ranks and rates investment products for investors, went against the grain and downgraded MGIC Investment Corp. by two notches due exactly to those reasons. While private MIs have been gaining market share in the last couple of years, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. and its business competitors will find...
In efforts to expand mortgage access and get more homeowners in the door, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said the FHA is looking into alternative credit scoring models. Speaking at a credit access symposium at the National Association of Realtors this week in Washington, DC, Castro said, “We want to make it more affordable, realistic and more feasible for folks to become homeowners.” He acknowledged...
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