FHA forward mortgage production plunged in the third quarter, precipitated by a substantial drop in purchase activity. [Includes two data charts.]

The Department of Veterans Affairs this week laid the groundwork for changes to its current rules on VA-guaranteed cash-out refinance loans.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage originations saw a modest 4.7 percent sequential fall in the third quarter as the downward volume trend for reverse mortgages continued. [Includes one data chart.]

In an analysis of FHA’s fiscal 2018 audit of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, analysts believe the Department of Housing and Urban Development may be inclined to shrink FHA’s footprint modestly given the risk profile of its new business.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has not conducted a single nonperforming loan sale in 2018 because apparently investors have found a quicker way to obtain newly foreclosed properties.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service has issued guidance regarding short sales and sale of real estate-owned properties backed by rural housing loans.

The FHA has announced plans to improve the web-based system lenders use to submit appraisal reports to the agency.

The FHA is calling for broader statutory authority for the Mortgagee Review Board in determining the type and amount of penalties the board can assess to strengthen lender enforcement and eliminate the need for False Claims Act cases.

The FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is generally healthy but for its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, according to the latest FHA audit of the MMIF. In its 2018 report to Congress this week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development had good and bad news regarding the financial condition of the insurance fund. The good news is that the economic value of the MMIF, which backs the FHA’s single-family loan programs, increased to $34.7 billion in fiscal 2018 from $26.7 billion a year ago. Total capital resources rose to $49.2 billion from $40.9 billion during the same period. For the fourth consecutive year, the fund exceeded its statutory capital reserve ratio of 2.00 percent. The ratio rose to 2.76 percent in 2018 from 2.18 percent last year. Premium reductions, had they been in effect, would have reduced the fund’s economic net worth and dropped its capital ratio, industry ...

A memorandum of understanding is in the works at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to clarify the use of the False Claims Act in FHA enforcement. At the same time, the department is considering seeking statutory authority for the Mortgagee Review Board to impose stiffer penalties on lenders for violations that do not require a False Claims Act response. (See following story.) During a public policy luncheon hosted by the Washington-based Women in Housing and Finance this week, HUD Assistant Secretary and FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery said the draft MOU would provide a “level of fairness” in terms of whether the FCA or some other mechanism would be appropriate. Montgomery did not discuss specifics but said the memo would ensure that HUD has a say in what type of offense would qualify for a false claim. Montgomery gave no timeframe for when the ...