While the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s newly implemented FHA Loan Review System and its defect taxonomy has reduced lender exposure to false-claims risk, the system needs more tweaks to become fully efficient, says the Mortgage Bankers Association. While acknowledging great improvement in lender certainty and clarity regarding False Claims Act risk, the MBA wants to see “assignment-specific remedies” for each tier of defect severity. And though lenders say ...
One of the biggest takeaways for the mortgage industry in Republicans’ tax reform effort is that homeownership incentives provided by the mortgage interest deduction will be reduced significantly. Republican leaders have stressed that they don’t plan to eliminate the MID. But a near doubling of the standard deduction and other provisions included in tax reform will make the deduction worth much less, according to Leonard Burman, an institute fellow at the ...
“The other natural job would be as CFPB director,” the Cowen analyst continued. “That said, Hensarling has shown much greater interest in housing finance…”
The trade group also found that refinancings are declining as well: down to 48.7 percent of all new applications from 49.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 20.
In late December, Freddie will make its regular quarterly dividend payment to the U.S. Treasury, which holds its senior preferred shares. When it does, most of the $4.67 billion in net earnings will be swept into the general fund.