FHA’s Streamline Refinance program went through an erratic pace in 2015 as business exploded in the second quarter and declined over the second half of the year. FHA lenders closed 2015 with $67.5 billion in total streamline refis, a 252.4 percent improvement over volume in 2014. Production fell 30.0 percent in the fourth quarter from the prior quarter. The second-quarter spike – which caused streamline refi volume to jump from $12.1 billion in the first quarter to $25.0 billion in the second quarter – was fueled apparently by FHA’s reduction of the annual mortgage insurance premium. In January 2015, the FHA cut its MIPs on 30-year loans, making it less expensive to carry an FHA home. Under the revised MIP schedule, a 30-year FHA streamline refi with a loan-to-value ratio over 95 percent is charged an annual MIP of 0.85 percent. For a 30-year loan under 95 percent LTV, the annual MIP is ... [ 1 chart ]
Ginnie Mae is pulling the plug on its long-running Targeted Lending Initiative because it is no longer having an impact on overall lending in underserved urban and rural areas. TLI volume has seen more decline than uptick in recent years despite its offer of a Ginnie Mae guaranty fee reduction to encourage lenders to make more loans in underserved communities, according to an agency spokesperson. Reducing the Ginnie Mae guaranty fee lowers lenders’ expenses and, ideally, provides an incentive to increase lending. In 2005, Ginnie Mae extended the TLI to areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, reducing the guaranty fee by as much as 50 percent to spur issuers to originate or purchase mortgage loans in areas where the hurricane inflicted the most damage. At one point, the program had more than 10,000 census tracts that were identified as targeted areas. Other TLI areas included those ...
The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued new guidance clarifying how VA lenders should comply with the disclosure requirements of the new TRID rule. TRID, which stands for Truth in Lending Act-Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosures, was adopted in final form by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Oct. 3, 2015. Specifically, TRID establishes new requirements regarding mortgage disclosure forms, which lenders must use for all home loans. Lenders are required to itemize the services and fees they charge to borrowers on the TRID disclosure forms, instead of on the HUD-1 closing statement, in connection with a loan application to purchase or refinance an existing mortgage. However, switching from the HUD-1 to the TRID form has caused uncertainty among VA lenders as to how to complete the new forms. VA’s TRID guidance lays out ...
Former CFPB enforcement attorney Jennifer Lee said the Circuit Court was hostile towards the CFPB’s arguments on statute of limitations, separation of powers, constitutionality of the agency and more...
A pilot effort by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is underway in New York City and Miami to track suspicious “all cash” purchases of high-end residential properties as part of the government’s anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement. In remarks during a recent AML conference in Florida, FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said geographic targeting orders (GTOs) were issued by the agency in January this year and went into effect on March 1. They require identification of high-end cash buyers to ensure luxury residences purchased with cash are not masking money laundering activities. Specifically, U.S. title insurance companies are temporarily required...
Wells Fargo was the top seller to the GSEs in the first quarter with $22.75 billion, followed by Quicken Loans ($11.33 billion) and JPMorgan Chase ($6.87 billion).
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