An internal compliance audit has uncovered weaknesses in the FHA’s information systems that could expose the agency to hacking. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General recently issued an audit report indicating that FHA’s Single Family Insurance System (SFIS) and Single Family Insurance Claims Subsystem could be in danger of security breaches. However, the report withheld details of the audit, saying the findings were not for public disclosure. The report explained that the audit was part of the internal-control assessments required for the FY 2015 financial statement audit under the Chief Financial Officer’s Act of 1996. The audit’s objective was to provide an assessment of SFIS control compliance with HUD’s information-technology policies and federal IT system security and financial management requirements. The SFIS contains information on FHA borrowers, including ...

The FHA is seeking comment on proposals for revising the schedule of fees an agency-approved consultant may charge on a Section 203(k) property repair and rehabilitation mortgage. The agency wants public comment on whether fees charged by FHA 203(k) consultants should be based on the total cost of repairs, as they are currently, or on other metrics. Consultants charge varying fees on a standard 203(k) mortgage and a limited 203(k) mortgage. The standard FHA repair/rehab mortgage is designed for remodeling, rehabilitation and repairs that involve structural or more complex work that will cost more than $5,000. The limited 203(k) home loan is only for minor remodeling and non-structural repairs. An FHA-approved consultant is required for all standard 203(k) mortgages but not necessarily for a limited 203(k) home loan. FHA-approved 203(k) consultants who are placed on ...

Effective Oct. 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service will reduce the one-time upfront funding fee for single-family housing guaranteed loans to spur rural home-loan financing. The RHS will cut the funding fee from the current rate of 2.75 percent of the loan amount to 1.0 percent. The agency notified lenders of the change last June. In addition, the fee for servicing USDA-guaranteed loans will decrease to 0.35 percent from 0.50 percent. That comes to about $30 per month per $100,000 in loan balance. The servicing fee is paid in 12 equal installments and rolled into the monthly mortgage payments. The RHS has raised both fees a number of times during the past several years to maintain the section 502 Single Family Housing program, which does not require borrowers to make any downpayment, and to avoid congressional appropriation. Last year, the RHS raised its upfront funding fee for a purchase loan, from 2.00 percent to 2.75 percent. Another reason the RHS cited for the fee reduction is that rural housing delinquencies and foreclosures are at historic lows.

Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie issued a combined $138.25 billion of single-family MBS in August, their strongest aggregate monthly output since July 2013.

And one big no-no, the consulting firm points out, would entail the new owner making substantive changes to loan officer compensation plans…

Candidate Clinton noted: “But when community banks and credit unions offer mortgages, they’re looking to invest in their neighborhoods and communities to help them grow and prosper…”

From July to August, UWM grew its production by roughly 40 percent, noted company CEO and President Mat Ishbia…

Meanwhile, one mortgage executive told us that earlier in the year Impac approached his shop about a sale. This executive, who did not want his company identified, turned Impac down…

Wells Fargo was hit with fines totaling $185.0 million this week for secretly opening unauthorized accounts for customers at the bank. Regulators said the bank’s incentives for cross-selling financial products pushed employees at Wells to open unwanted deposit and credit card accounts for customers of the bank. The fines were imposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ($100.0 million, the largest penalty ever imposed by the CFPB), the city and county of Los Angeles ...

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions has significantly increased its nonprime wholesale lending this year, according to an offering document for the $132.65 million nonprime mortgage-backed security recently issued by Angel Oak Capital Advisors. AOMS originated $222.25 million in nonprime wholesale originations in the first half of this year, nearlyl matching its $224.16 million total for all of last year. But retail production at Angel Oak Home Loans has declined ...