The Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund’s economic net worth and capital reserve ratio declined in fiscal year 2017 due to losses in the FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage portfolio caused by rising claims, according to the agency’s annual report to Congress released this week. While the fund remains above its minimum capital level, both the economic net worth and the capital ratio fell from levels at the end of fiscal 2016, the report said. Specifically, the fund’s…
Most of the nation’s six publicly traded mortgage firms have seen their share prices get smacked around this year. The exception is PennyMac Financial Services, a stand-out in a group that’s struggling to keep its head above water.
Republican leaders in the Senate detailed their tax reform legislation late last week, with some differences compared with the bill making its way through the House. While the Senate bill would leave the existing mortgage interest deduction largely untouched, participants in the housing industry raised a number of other concerns.
Industry stakeholders are increasingly dour on the prospect of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt acting to rectify the government-sponsored enterprises’ capital buffer issue before yearend, but there’s growing hope that bipartisan reform legislation might be enacted next year.
Regulatory relief got a sudden and surprising boost on Capitol Hill early this week when the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee unexpectedly passed a bipartisan package of provisions making it easier for lenders to extend mortgage credit to borrowers.
Texas sticks out like a sore thumb in its regulation of home-equity lending, but the swelling will be reduced somewhat after Lone Star voters approved an amendment to the state’s constitution that will loosen some of the rules.
Big changes aren’t likely to take place at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the after-math of Director Richard Cordray’s surprise departure at the end of this month, but industry observers expect a significant shift in enforcement and supervision when a new leader is in place.
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