The Department of Housing and Urban Development is once again asking for authority to charge lenders an administrative support fee to fund information technology upgrades and administrative functions at the FHA, a bid that was shot down by Congress last year. As part of the Obama administration’s fiscal 2016 budget proposal, HUD wants to charge lenders up to $30 million in fees, which would be credited as offsetting collections to the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance program account. The mortgage industry cautioned...

Pingora Asset Management is trying to raise $500 million of additional capital to buy mortgage servicing rights from eager sellers. If successful, it will bring the young company’s investment in residential receivables up to $1 billion. According to new figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, Pingora owned $25.38 billion of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac residential servicing rights at yearend, ranking 24th among all servicers. Three years ago, it didn’t even exist. Company founder and Chief Executive Michael Lau was said...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made a few industry hearts skip a beat last week when it proposed loosening some of the parameters of the ability-to-repay rule for small lenders and for those providing credit to rural and underserved communities. Under the bureau’s proposal, small lenders could hold an unlimited number of mortgages in portfolio without sacrificing their “small creditor” status under the ATR rule. In and of itself, the change isn’t that big a deal. But what really captured some industry representatives’ imagination was the possibility that it might represent a liberalization of the bureau’s attitude toward portfolio loans in the context of the ATR rule and more concessions ahead. Under the CFPB’s proposal, the definition of “small creditor” would expand...

Seven of the 10 largest servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program were unable to process the number of HAMP modification applications they received in November, according to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. SIGTARP first raised concerns about servicers’ slow processing of HAMP mods in September. In a report released last week, the SIGTARP took the Treasury Department to task for not doing enough to address the issue. “Treasury must ensure...

A significant percentage of mortgage industry professionals think President Obama’s estimate that 250,000 borrowers will benefit from the FHA annual premium reduction is “too high” and that the impact will be minimal, according a new survey by the Collingwood Group. The monthly survey said 47 percent thought the estimate is too high and the price cut is not enough to generate a substantial number of new homeowners given that credit standards remain tight. They also said that the 50 basis point reduction in the annual premium is insufficient to make financing affordable. Meanwhile, 34 percent thought...

FHFA chief Mel Watt noted: “In Treasury’s view, it’s a legislative decision” to change the terms of the bailout agreement.

G-fees range from 50 to 55 basis points. Prior to the housing bust, some seller/servicers had g-fee payments as low as 12 basis points.

The Mortgage Choice Act was passed by the GOP-held House in June, but failed to move through the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Ruth Lee, executive vice president of TCS, expects a big year in the scratch-and-dent market, thanks to the GSEs.

Prospect Mortgage is the top contributor with a 9.1 percent share, followed by Ditech Mortgage (8.6 percent) and Skyline Financial (7.1 percent). All three are nonbanks.