Moody’s noted that 88.1 percent of the mortgages slated for securitization have been modified.

A spokesman for Impac said the purchase price will be disclosed “when the final docs are filed.”

Lowering premiums now would only put the FHA MMIF further behind, the House Financial Services Committee chairman argued.

Mortgage lenders are delirious about lower FHA premiums, right? Well, not everyone.

HUD Secretary Castro said the MMIF is on a “positive trajectory,” though he admits the premium reduction could delay its recovery...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a modest decline in production of new single-family mortgage-backed securities at the end of 2014, but a rally in refinance lending softened the thud. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $179.38 billion of single-family MBS during the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of loan-level data. That was down 2.1 percent from the third quarter of 2014. But the GSEs securitized...[Includes three data charts]

Ocwen Financial’s massive exit from the agency servicing market is expected to be a multi-year phase-out complicated by its past regulatory problems and a weak market for legacy product, according to industry advisors. If the company follows through on its promise to exit all segments of the agency market – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae – it will wind up selling a hefty $182.51 billion of residential mortgage servicing rights, based on third quarter survey numbers submitted to Inside Mortgage Finance. At Sept. 30, the nonbank serviced...

President Obama this week announced a substantial price cut in FHA mortgage insurance premiums, although agency officials aren’t sure yet when the change will take effect. The FHA will lower its annual insurance payment from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent, according to a White House fact sheet released in advance of the president’s speech as Inside Mortgage Finance was going to press late this week. According to the administration, the price cut won’t hurt...

The share price of certain mortgage stocks took it on the chin in 2014, caught in all the negative publicity surrounding Ocwen Financial and nonbank mortgage companies. According to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance of a select group of nonbank lender/servicers, Ocwen’s stock suffered the largest decline in 2014 as measured by current price to its 52-week high. Based on prices this week, Ocwen’s common is trading at a 76 percent discount to its high for the past 12 months. Ranking second in this ignoble category is...[Includes one data chart]

Mortgage underwriting standards have loosened in recent years, led by the jumbo market and reduced overlays on agency mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. However, underwriting standards aren’t nearly as lenient as they were in the early 2000s, prompting some to call for further loosening. The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index has trended up since the beginning of 2012. “Most of the action in terms of loosening has been on the jumbo side,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA chief economist, at a talk hosted this week by the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center. Separately, he noted...