Endorsements fell in May at the two top FHA shops in the country even as the market’s total production of loans with FHA insurance increased both on a monthly and year-over-year basis, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of FHA data. Wells Fargo, the country’s largest FHA lender, saw its May volume fall 14.6 percent to $1.94 billion from April while second-ranked Quicken Loans saw production fall even farther by 22.5 percent to $1.16 billion over the same period. Year over year, Wells Fargo’s FHA volume fell 5.9 percent in May while for Quicken Loans, the story was different ... (1 chart)

Roughly 27 percent of outstanding Ginnie Mae MBS pools are eligible for the FHA’s revised streamline refinancing program, which could translate to $36 billion in new annual Ginnie Mae issuance, according to a report from Barclays Research. Barclays analysts estimated that about $293.0 billion of Ginnie Mae’s $1 trillion-plus 30-year loan pools were originated before May 2009. About 79 percent of the collateral backing these pools are FHA loans, which suggests that as much as $232.0 billion could qualify...

Old Republic International Corp.’s top management said it is postponing indefinitely plans to reenter the mortgage guaranty market after cancelling a planned spinoff and reversing the partial leveraged buyout of its subsidiary, Republic Financial Indemnity Group. In a conference call this week, ORI Chief Executive Officer Aldo Zucaro stood by the company’s decision to withdraw the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May for spinning off RFIG common stock to ORI shareholders. He said stakeholders, including the North Carolina Department of Insurance, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, banks, debtholders and shareholders, rejected...

A new secondary market policy announced by Wells Fargo last week is sending ripples across the industry and could potentially cause the FHA Streamline Refinance program to falter in the coming weeks. Major FHA lenders have quietly adopted similar policies as FHA refinance volume, fueled by increased streamline refi business, more than doubled over the week. Wells Fargo raised eyebrows by announcing it will do FHA streamline refis only on loans in its own servicing portfolio and will not accept streamline refis from third-party originators. The top FHA producer in the first quarter of 2012 said focusing on ...

FHA lenders may expect new guidance on the use of credit overlays as the Department of Housing and Urban Development expressed concern over lenders imposing additional underwriting beyond what FHA already requires. Acting FHA Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing Carol Galante said there is concern about FHA lenders raising credit score requirements much higher than the agency requires to shield themselves from future liability. She said many lenders are requiring credit scores of 700 or higher, way above the traditional FHA borrower score of 640-650 – a practice that is not prohibited but ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is looking for ways to expand the FHA’s home renovation program to accommodate real estate-owned properties even as the mortgage industry urged HUD to open the program to investors. Acting FHA Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing Carol Galante said HUD is considering use of the 203(k) Rehabilitation Loan program to ease FHA’s huge inventory of foreclosed properties. HUD’s REO inventory has dropped from a peak of 68,997 foreclosed properties in March 2011 to 29,692 in February. As of May 27, the inventory was ...

Widespread objection by stakeholders has forced the Department of Housing and Urban Development to rescind a new lending policy regarding borrowers with disputed debt and unresolved collection issues and to consider clarifying the issue in future guidance. The policy, announced along with other FHA underwriting changes in February, was initially to take effect on April 1. However, industry concern about fewer borrowers qualifying for an FHA-insured loan caused HUD to extend the policy’s effective date to July 1 to reexamine and gather more information from stakeholders. HUD announced its decision to ...

Advocates for FHA condominium rule changes may have to wait a bit longer for a proposed rule currently in development, according to Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante. Galante said the Department of Housing and Urban Development is reviewing the current FHA condo rules for future revisions that would remove the roadblock to buyers, sellers and lenders. A proposed rule is in the works but it could take considerably more time to finish and finalize it, she said without providing a timetable. In the meantime, new guidance is on the way to ...

FHA lenders and servicers commencing foreclosure on FHA-insured mortgage loans in the Commonwealth of Virginia must first meet with the borrower personally before proceeding or risk voidance of the foreclosure sale, the state supreme court ruled recently. Because of the decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia, the state has joined a growing list of states that require a face-to-face meeting between a mortgage lender and a borrower before initiating foreclosure proceedings on an FHA-insured mortgage loan. In Mathews v. PHH Mortgage Corp., the court upheld ...

FHA production of mortgages with loan amounts exceeding $417,000 rose to $4.8 billion during the first three months of 2012, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of FHA data. The FHA posted a significant 21.1 percent increase in agency jumbo production from the fourth quarter of 2011, offsetting the 17.9 percent drop in production year over year. The agency’s maximum loan limit remained at $729,750 in high-cost areas while those of its competitors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were at the lower $625,500. Purchase loans accounted for 42.4 percent of FHA jumbo originations in ... [1 chart]