The Department of Veterans Affairs expects to issue a final rule establishing ability-to-repay (ATR) standards and defining a “qualified mortgage” in October, according to the agency’s regulatory agenda for the second half of 2015. Proposed in May 2014, the rule would implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, which, among other things, would require the VA to define the types of loans that are QMs under the new ATR provisions of the Truth in Lending Act. VA loans that are designated as QM would have either safe-harbor protections or the presumption that the borrower is able to repay the mortgage loan, in accordance with the new ATR provisions. The final rule would not change VA’s regulations or policies regarding mortgage originations, except when lenders want to originate QMs, the VA said. A VA spokesman clarified that action dates on any particular rulemaking are not ...

The FHA is planning to propose a number of rules for the single-family mortgage insurance program through the second half of 2015 and is expecting to act soon on a long-anticipated rule on seller concessions. In its semiannual regulatory agenda, the FHA appears poised to take final action this month on a five-year-old proposed rule seeking to lower FHA seller concessions or contributions toward a buyer’s closing cost. The proposed rule is one of three FHA initiatives to help restore the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, which was severely depleted during the housing crisis. Similar to what was proposed in the President’s FY 2012 budget, the proposed rule would limit concessions to 3 percent or $6,000, whichever is greater. The proposal would limit acceptable use of concessions to borrower closing costs, prepaid items, discount points, FHA upfront insurance premium and ...

Total originations of reverse mortgages with FHA insurance increased in the first three months of 2015, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage production, overall, rose 3.0 percent to $3.9 billion from the fourth quarter of 2014 and was down 2.0 percent on a year-over-year basis. HECM purchase loans far outpaced refinances, which accounted for only 14.5 percent of total HECM volume in the first quarter. Lenders reported a total of $2.3 billion in initial HECM principal amount at loan origination. Meanwhile, there is continued investor interest in HECM mortgage-backed securities (HMBS), according to Ginnie Mae. The unpaid principal balance of HMBS climbed to $48.9 billion in FY 2014 and the number of participations (the funded portions of HECM loans that have been securitized) has increased to 6,585, 856. HMBS issuance was ... [1 chart]

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association is seeking guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on how to design reverse mortgage advertisements without triggering regulatory scrutiny. Peter Bell, NRMLA president and chief executive, said he had sent a Freedom of Information Act request seeking access to the particular ads that the CFPB sought comment on in a recent study on reverse mortgage advertisements. The study found that consumers who viewed the ads were left with misimpressions about reverse mortgages. For example, consumers were confused about reverse mortgages being loans. Some thought that home-equity conversion mortgages are a “government benefit” or that they could ensure that homeowners could stay in their homes for the rest of their lives. Others complained of difficulty reading the fine print and that ...

The FHA plans to issue a proposed rule in the fall that would allow it to insure single-family condominium units in multifamily projects, according to the agency’s regulatory agenda for the second half of 2015. The proposed rule would cover condo units that are attached, detached, semi-detached or manufactured. It would apply as well to undivided interests in the common areas and facilities that serve the project. The proposed change would clarify and ensure lender compliance with the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. HERA moved FHA’s authority to insure single-family condominiums from Section 234 to Section 203 of the National Housing Act. However, because Section 203 does not provide the same authority for FHA, rulemaking became necessary. HERA also granted FHA the authority to issue administrative notices to convey condominium policy guidance until a ...

Gross new issuance of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae single-family MBS declined by 6.3 percent from April to May, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. The agencies produced $113.46 billion of new single-family MBS last month. Though down from April, it was still significantly higher than at any time in 2014, when production averaged just $77.46 billion per month. The key to the drop-off in May was...[Includes two data tables]

Refinance lending fueled the growth in mortgage originations during the first quarter of 2015, although new data suggest that the purchase-mortgage sector is taking hold. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $221.0 billion of refi loans during the first quarter, an increase of 51.4 percent from a revised fourth-quarter production estimate of $146.0 billion. Inside Mortgage Finance refi and purchase-mortgage estimates for all four quarters of 2014 were revised to reflect just first-lien mortgage originations. Refi loans accounted...[Includes three data tables]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is working on a new proposed rule to ease the backlog in FHA insurance claims filings as well as to revise the department’s “curtailment of interest” policy to relieve the burden on mortgagees. The FHA expects to finalize the proposed rule in August this year, according to HUD’s new regulatory agenda, although the agency rarely comes even close to its projected rulemaking timelines. Specifically, the proposed rule would establish...

A federal district court judge in Washington, DC, has granted Quicken Loan’s motion to stay a government lawsuit until another federal judge in Detroit decides whether to proceed with Quicken’s preemptive lawsuit against the government. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton in Washington would give Quicken the opportunity to shine light on FHA compliance issues, loan sampling and the Department of Justice’s use of the False Claims Act to prosecute FHA lenders. Such enforcement actions have resulted in more than $4.5 billion in settlements with FHA lenders. In April, Quicken sued...

“Without nonbanks, today’s sluggish mortgage market would be much less vibrant,” according to research released this week by two researchers associated with Harvard University. Their working paper stresses that implementing bank-like standards for nonbanks isn’t the best strategy to mitigate risks in the housing finance system. The paper was authored by Marshall Lux, a senior fellow of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, which is part of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; along with Robert Greene, a research assistant at the same center. They called...