The FDIC will raise the question of a 30 percent downpayment but don't expect to see it in the final QRM rule.

It appears that mortgage bankers are beginning to liberalize, somewhat, the credit scores they're willing to accept on FHA loans.

The former Encore Mortgage executive said he will concentrate on lower FICO score lending, in particular what he calls the “B&C” market.

Today, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac g-fees average 50 to 55 basis points compared to 24 bp back in 2009.

FHA is seeing its cash reserves increase more than expected. Meanwhile, yet another mortgage vendor is laying off workers.

Fannie Mae is lowering its maximum loan-to-value ratio to 95 percent come November, and there is speculation that the decision could force some of that business over to FHA. The policy change was confirmed by the GSE when it sent out an update to users of its automated processing program, Desktop Underwriter. It also means that mortgage insurers could lose business at a time when many have shown a new willingness to take on more credit risk amid improving delinquencies and earnings. Mark Goldhaber, a former executive at Genworth Financial, which owns an MI company, told ...

Originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages continued to increase in the second quarter of 2013, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The growth was fueled by banks offering highly competitive interest rates in an effort to retain jumbos in portfolio. Wells Fargo was the top-ranked jumbo lender through two quarters in 2013, by a wide margin. The lender had $21.87 billion in jumbo originations in the first half of 2013, accounting for 19.4 percent of ... [Includes one data chart]

Cancelled Furlough Days. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reduced the number of furlough days from seven to five days due to progress made in achieving the $69.6 million spending cuts mandated by sequestration. In this regard, previously scheduled furlough days of Aug. 16 and Aug. 30 are cancelled. As the end of FY 2013 approaches, HUD is making significant progress towards reaching its sequestration target, without needing additional furlough days, said Deputy Press Secretary George Gonzalez of HUD’s Office of Public Affairs. Government-wide automatic spending cuts became effective ...

With implementation of the CFPB’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule just a few months away, federal regulators are scheduled to meet in Washington, DC, later this week to discuss – and possibly vote on – a new version of a qualified residential mortgage/ risk retention proposal. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s board of directors is scheduled to meet in open session at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, for renewed formal consideration of a QRM/credit risk retention proposal as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and...

The CFPB recently released a second update to its exam procedures associated with the new mortgage regulations issued in January 2013, with the intent of providing guidance to financial institutions and mortgage companies on what the bureau will be eyeballing as the rules become effective. The updates cover the ability-to-repay rule and qualified mortgages, high-cost mortgages, and appraisals for higher-priced mortgage loans, as well as new amendments related to the escrow rule. With this latest iteration, the exam procedures now...