The Department of the Treasury and state banking regulators strenuously objected to a proposed rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regarding federal preemption of state consumer financial law even as calls to withdraw the proposal or reopen its comment period mounted. As the comment period ended June 27, the Treasury Department responded unfavorably to the preemption rule proposed by one of its own bureaus, saying that the agency’s approach is incompatible with the federal preemption text of the Dodd-Frank Act and its ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recorded significant declines in the volume of single-family mortgages they securitized during the second quarter of 2011, according to a new analysis and ranking based on the Inside Mortgage Finance GSE MarketScope. The two government-sponsored enterprises generated a combined $155.0 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter, down a hefty 40.6 percent from the first three months of the year. It was the slowest quarter in Fannie/Freddie MBS output since the final three months of 2008, the low ... [includes 3 data charts]

The FHA’s mortgage insurance portfolio continues to improve despite lingering uncertainty in housing prices, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest quarterly report to Congress. HUD gave the FHA Single-Family Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund a cautious thumbs up in its FY 2011 second-quarter report as the fund surpassed earlier actuarial forecasts halfway through the fiscal year. There was mostly encouraging news from several fronts. HECM endorsements were up 12 percent during the quarter and 2 percent on a year-over-year basis. Forward mortgage loans endorsements, which totaled 285,725, were down 23 percent from...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is planning to update the FHA TOTAL Scorecard automated scoring system. FHA has been studying other possible changes in how TOTAL is used for managing the credit risk of new insurance, according to a HUD spokesman. “We anticipate making changes in the coming months,” he said, without elaborating. TOTAL is a system that provides feedback to approved lenders on what the FHA considers acceptable risk, apart from manual underwriting review. The system has been operating since May 2004 and mandatory for all loans, except non-streamline refinance actions, since July 2008. The system has...

FHA jumbo originations took a 32.2 percent tumble during the first quarter of 2011 yet remained strong enough when combined with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s jumbo numbers to beat non-agency jumbo originations for the quarter, according to a new Inside FHA Lending ranking and analysis. FHA, Fannie and Freddie accounted for $26.15 billion, or 15.7 percent, of all jumbo loans – those exceeding $417,000 – originated in the first quarter, compared to $25.0 billion in new non-agency jumbo loans produced during the same period, data from Inside Mortgage Finance show. During the first quarter, FHA jumbo production fell to... [Includes two data charts]

The FHA has clarified its approval and recertification process and policies for condominium projects in newly revised guidelines. Guidance in Mortgagee Letter 2011-22 formalizes and expands policies Ginnie Mae put in place in 2009 and lays the groundwork for a formal rulemaking later this year. The mortgagee letter includes a condominium policy guide and implementation schedule laying out timelines for compliance. The revised guidelines “preserve FHA’s role in the condo market during these difficult times while making certain we manage risks in a responsible way,’ said FHA Acting Commissioner Robert Ryan. Overall, the mortgagee letter and guide spell out...

The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 covers loan originators working for entities that originate FHA or VA mortgage loans, according to a final rule issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under the long-anticipated rule on state compliance with the SAFE Act, HUD clarified that even though the FHA and VA programs were created by federal statute and governed by federal regulations, the loans they insure or guarantee are originated for profit. Since FHA and VA loans are originated in the “commercial context,” the loan originators (LOs) are generally subject to the requirements of...

Two U.S. senators and their staffs are working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure that FHA policies regarding interest charges protect borrowers. Sens. Ben Cardin, D-MD, and Johnny Isakson, R-GA, and HUD are trying to resolve an existing FHA policy that allows lenders to charge interest on a mortgage loan through the end of the month, even if the borrower pays the loan off earlier in the month. The policy apparently aligns with Ginnie Mae’s guarantee to securities holders of a full month’s interest on a securitized FHA loan even if that loan is paid in full at the beginning of the month. Only the FHA has this sort of...

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported that mortgage fraud related suspicious activity reports rose 31 percent to 25,485 in the first quarter of the year, due to mortgage lenders conducting more reviews after receiving demands to repurchase poorly performing mortgages. Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Jeffrey Goldstein is leaving the department as of the end of July. He has been one of President Obama’s go-to guys when it comes to rehabbing the financial…