FHA Commissioner Carol Galante is slated to depart the agency in a few weeks, leaving in her wake a healthier Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, but her withdrawal comes amid gripes from some lenders that agency premiums are too high, hurting the first-time homebuyer market. Several industry officials give Galante high marks for not caving to industry pressure on reducing FHA premiums, and for trying to build bridges to originators at a time when the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Justice Department continue to target lenders for their “legacy” production. One consultant who represents FHA lenders said...

As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buyback demands have tapered off, lenders continue to face aggressive government efforts to indemnify the FHA for losses, but they do have options available to them that can work in their favor. During a webinar sponsored last week by Inside Mortgage Finance, Amanda Raines, a partner with the BuckleySandler law firm in Washington, DC, emphasized that FHA indemnification demands have continued this year, with an aggressive use of the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act. That has led...

Mortgage buybacks and indemnifications may be off their peak in terms of volume, but they are widely expected to continue for the foreseeable future, industry experts said this week. But the good news for the industry is that there are a variety of defenses and coping strategies available, depending on the particulars of a given situation. Amanda Raines, a partner in the Washington, DC, office of the BuckleySandler law firm, told participants of an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar this week that more buybacks are definitely on the way. “The Department of Justice is still making financial fraud a priority,” she said. Raines noted...

For FHA lenders, the idea of a large lender exiting the FHA market and creating opportunities for market share has been overshadowed by concerns regarding liability in the wake of recent fraud-related settlements between lenders and the federal government. Compliance experts said many of their FHA clients are quietly reassessing their FHA business after JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, during a recent earnings call, spoke out loudly against the government’s stringent enforcement actions aimed at recovering “wrongfully” claimed funds. Lenders fear that FHA enforcement actions have taken a turn for the worse in recent years, and that even errors that have nothing to do with loan default are construed as fraud by government prosecutors, resulting in billion-dollar penalties against FHA lenders. Seven major banks, so far, have paid ...

Twenty-five lenders either settled or lost their FHA approval for a full year because they failed to complete their annual recertification requirement, while 21 others were subjected to enforcement actions because their origination or servicing files did not meet FHA requirements. Results from cases heard by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Mortgagee Review Board in 2012 and 2013 showed that the board used all enforcement tools at its disposal. Specifically, the board took the following actions: Assessed money penalties of more than $1.5 million; imposed fees, refunds and principal buydowns totaling $1.2 million; required indemnification on 163 FHA-insured loans; withdrew FHA approval of four lenders; suspended the FHA approval of one lender; and placed one lender’s approval on probation. Violations were related to ...

The FHA’s widespread reduction in loan limits for 2014 has had a mixed impact on production levels so far this year, according to a new Inside FHA Lending analysis of FHA endorsement data. Through the first four months of 2014, FHA endorsements were down 55.6 percent from the same period last year. But in counties where loan limits were lowered, FHA production was down 57.5 percent from early 2013. In the relatively few counties where loan limits actually increased in 2014, FHA endorsements were also down from a year ago, but by a less severe 47.4 percent. The biggest decline in endorsements has been in refinances, especially FHA-to-FHA refinances. In areas with lowered loan limits, production of these loans has plummeted 87.0 percent, and even areas with raised loan limits saw an 81.1 percent drop in streamlined refis. Purchase-mortgage originations have taken less of a ...

The delinquency rate for residential FHA-insured mortgages fell at the halfway mark of 2014 from the end of the fourth quarter last year, a result of improved overall loan performance, strong credit standards and an improving, albeit slowly, economy, an Inside FHA Lending analysis of agency data suggests. Although the number of FHA lenders included in the analysis has doubled since year-end 2013, delinquency rates in the 30-60 days and 90-day plus buckets appear to be trending downward. As of June 30, FHA delinquencies across the board were down to 13.3 percent from 15.2 percent as of Dec. 30, 2013. The seriously delinquent rate – the percentage of loans that are 90 days or more past due – has dropped to 7.14 percent from 8.08 percent over the same period. The delinquency rate of FHA loans that are at least one payment past due also fell to ... [1 chart]

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have both paid major settlements regarding FHA lending, and both have curtailed their participation in the program, according to a new analysis of Ginnie Mae data by Inside FHA Lending. During the first six months of 2013, Chase accounted for 11.8 percent of the FHA mortgages in newly issued Ginnie mortgage-backed securities. During the first half of 2014, its volume of FHA loans in Ginnie pools was down 75.8 percent from the same period last year, and its share of the market sank more than half, to just 5.1 percent. Jamie Dimon, Chase’s president and CEO, recently questioned why the bank should stay in the FHA business when legal costs are so high. The Ginnie data show it ... [1 chart]

Beginning Oct. 1, 2014, FHA lenders will be required to retain both electronic and hard copies of originals of foreclosure-related documents in their servicing files as well as paperwork relating to loss-mitigation reviews. Specifically, lenders must keep electronic copies of the servicer’s foreclosure committee recommendation, servicer’s referral notice to a foreclosure attorney, and a copy of the document showing the first legal action necessary to initiate foreclosure. Lenders may use electronic storage methods for all other servicing-related documents where retention of a hard copy or original document is not required, according to the FHA. An electronic copy of the mortgage, mortgage note or deed of trust also must be kept and marked “copy.” Lenders are required to preserve originals and hard copies as specified by regulation. If the note has been lost, ...

Comment Period for Single Family Handbook Extended. The FHA has extended from July 29 to Aug. 15, 2014 the deadline for submitting feedback on certain sections within the draft Single Family Handbook. Comments are being sought on sections “Doing Business with FHA – FHA Lenders and Mortgagees” and “Quality Control, Oversight and compliance." Both sections’ contents, as well as supporting information, are posted for review and feedback on the SF Drafting Table in the FHA website. Each section’s web page also contains highlights of changes, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and a feedback response worksheet. Julian Castro as New HUD Secretary. Julian Castro was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on July 28. He replaces Shaun Donovan, who is now director of the ...