Officials at National Mortgage Insurance say a state-of-the-art business platform and a somewhat old-school approach to writing private MI will help the company establish a beachhead in an industry that’s seen three long-time players washed out to sea by the housing market collapse. National MI hopes to have its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac approvals within the next few months, and it’s made significant headway in lining up state approvals, officials say. In June, the new private MI was approved for an accelerated licensing process that allows it to seek multiple state licenses on a streamlined basis. The private MI industry has seen...

The use of conventional conforming mortgages in the home purchase market, which fell to the lowest level in more than a decade last year, is staging a comeback in 2012. A combination of events – particularly increased home buying by higher-income current homeowners and more attractive pricing for higher loan-to-value ratio conventional financing – appears to be fueling the growth. Perhaps the most visible sign of the growth in the conventional side of the home purchase market can be found in Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s latest mortgage activity numbers. According to data compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, the combined home purchase mortgage business of Fannie and Freddie climbed to $77.6 billion in the third quarter of this year. That was not only up 33.6 percent from the second quarter’s volume, but put...

FHA loan originations, driven largely by streamline refinancing, increased 5.3 percent to $60.9 billion in the third quarter of this year, the highest level it has been in almost two years, according to Inside FHA Lending’s latest analysis of FHA data. The third-quarter volume reflected an upward trend that began in the first quarter with nearly $48.5 billion in total FHA single-family production and which later rose to $57.8 billion in the second quarter. The last highest point in FHA production was in the fourth quarter of 2010 when ... (2 charts)

New pool level data issued by Ginnie Mae reveal a rising share of FHA-insured loans that have refinanced with grandfathered mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) in new Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities issuances, according to analysts. Of particular interest to investors is the share of borrowers with existing FHA-insured home loans who took advantage of an opportunity to refinance on advantageous terms under the FHA Streamline Refinance program, said analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Under the revised rules of the FHA Streamline Refi program, FHA-insured mortgages endorsed before June 1, 2009, were ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is mulling a recommendation by its Inspector General to consider indemnifications, civil fines or remedies under the False Claims Act against an approved California lender for allowing the recording of restrictive covenants that put the FHA insurance fund at risk for losses. The IG audit report also recommended that HUD require the lender, Shea Mortgage of Aliso Viejo, CA, to reimburse the FHA for $1.47 million in claims paid on 11 FHA-insured loans that contained prohibited restrictive covenants. Under HUD rules, any recorded agreement between the ...

A weakened mortgage revenue bond market and the unreliability of its primary and pool credit enhancement structure has prompted the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Agency to turn to FHA and Ginnie Mae to finance its affordable housing program. Launched in December last year, WHEDA’s $100 million FHA Advantage program is still in its infancy, generating less than $1 million a month. Although marketing has not been aggressive as it should be, Geoff Cooper, WHEDA director of single-family operations, said the housing finance agency will soon announce ...

Legislation that would delay foreclosures on mortgages of certain military servicemembers, retirees and surviving spouses of soldiers and sailors who died on active duty would cost taxpayers more to enact and implement rather than as a revenue raiser, according to Congressional Budget Office. The CBO estimates that enacting S. 3322, the Servicemembers’ Protection Act of 2012, would increase direct spending by $16 million over the 2013-2022 period. Implementing it would hike discretionary costs by ...

A nonsupervised Arizona FHA lender whose high default and claims rate triggered a supervisory audit earlier found itself in a deeper mess for improper underwriting on a number of FHA streamline refinanced loans that resulted in losses to the FHA insurance fund. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General found that Allen Mortgage of Centennial Park, AZ, violated HUD’s regulations , procedures, and instructions in the underwriting of FHA-insured loans. Specifically, of the 73 streamlined refinance mortgage loans reviewed by the IG, 23 were ...

VA Home Loan Program Celebrates 20-Millionth Loan Beneficiary. The Department of Veterans Affairs this week commemorated the 20-millionth recipient of a VA loan under the agency’s Home Loan Guaranty Program. Agency officials held a ceremony at the Woodbridge, VA, home of the loan’s recipient, Mrs. Elizabeth Carpenter, whose husband, Capt. Matthew Carpenter, passed away in 2010. Since 1944 as part of the original GI Bill of Rights, the VA has been providing guarantees to 30-year mortgage loans with low interest rates and has guaranteed ...

The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America urged U.S. banking regulators not to exclude private mortgage insurance as they consider the proposed Basel III risk-based capital framework for the nation’s banks. Commenting on the proposed rules this week, MICA urged regulators to acknowledge the crucial role private mortgage insurance plays in the single-family residential market and recognize it in the proposed capital rules “with a reduced capital charge.” “Exclusion of private mortgage insurance in the proposed rules is a departure from accepted banking practices and would have ‘unintended adverse consequences on housing finance and the broader U.S. economy,’” said Suzanne Hutchinson, MICA executive vice president. Under the proposed U.S. implementation of Basel III, conventional residential mortgages with loan-to-value ratios in excess of 80 percent, regardless of the presence of private mortgage insurance, could trigger...