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...
Earlier this month, the CFPB put out an updated small entity compliance guide for the ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule, incorporating clarifications and amendments to the rules issued on May 29, 2013, and July 10, 2013. The updated guide includes a handful of new sections, one of which goes into some detail about the exemptions that were added by the June 2013 concurrent final rule for certain creditors and loan programs, such as designated community development organizations, certain nonprofit organizations, and...
The CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule and its qualified mortgage standard are getting closer every day, and best practices may provide the surest path to compliance. First off, if you haven’t started, start now. “There’s a lot to do, there’s a lot to know, and there’s a lot to sort out. So, go ahead and get started. It’s already August, and January will be here before we know it,” Ginger Moore, the compliance officer at PrimeLending, a top-25 mortgage originator based in Dallas, TX, told participants during a recent Inside Mortgage...
Tammy Butler, the director of fair lending and compliance for Optimal Blue, a leading pricing engine, said she’s been hearing from one attorney and industry consultant after another that the time of mortgage lenders naming their fees just to re‐name profit is not going to go over well with the CFPB. “In fact, those who have been through the exams or been fined have learned the hard way that complete transparency to the consumer is a must,” Butler said.For instance, Butler has heard some lenders plan on lumping a...
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