The recent actuarial report that showed the FHA’s insurance fund is underwater to the tune of $16.3 billion ought to sound an alarm for policymakers to refocus the agency on its original public mission, some leading policy experts say, and perhaps even motivate them to resolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while they’re at it. “I think FHA’s financial condition is extremely precarious – much worse than FHA and HUD are making it out to be,” said long-time critic Edward Pinto, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC, and a former official at Fannie Mae. As he sees it, today’s very low interest rate environment means the economic value of FHA’s forward mortgage fund really is a far worse at a negative $31 billion. “And when you throw in the negative on the reverse [mortgage] program, you get close to $35 billion.” Compounding the problem is...

Lenders face increased regulation under policy changes designed to bring the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund back to positive within the fiscal year and reduce the likelihood of a Treasury bailout to shore up the FHA’s claims-paying ability. The Department of Housing and Urban Development late last week announced a hike in FHA premiums and other changes designed to restore the FHA’s insurance fund, which had a negative 1.44 percent capital ratio at the end of September 2012, according to a new actuarial review. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan blamed...

Many top mortgage servicers reported increases in mortgage delinquency rates during the third quarter of 2012, although data from the Mortgage Bankers Association suggest that seasonally adjusted rates improved in most categories. The Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index rose 7 basis points, to 10.17 percent, during the third quarter. The index was still significantly below the 10.70 percent level recorded at the same point in 2011, but it was up 29 bps from March 2012, when it dipped to 9.88 percent. The increase was driven...[Includes one data chart]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will raise the annual insurance premium on new FHA originations, reverse the agency’s current policy on mortgage insurance premium cancellation and institute other policy changes to improve the health of the FHA insurance fund. The new measures aim to offset significant losses from FHA’s legacy loans, which have caused significant stress to the agency’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Results of a new FHA actuarial audit showed that the stress has plunged the MMI Fund into a deep hole, revealing negative capital of $16.3 billion (negative $13.5 billion excluding Home Equity Conversion Mortgages) on a $1.13 trillion FHA portfolio. The capital reserve ratio fell ...

Mortgage lenders will be facing tougher enforcement if Congress decides to act on a series of proposals to hold lenders accountable for noncompliance with FHA policies and regulations. In the wake of an adverse actuarial report regarding the health of the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante announced that the agency will seek new powers to recoup losses from lenders that originate bad FHA loans. The proposals are designed to provide the FHA with greater flexibility to revise policies and procedures to avoid unnecessary losses before they occur. They will also improve the agency’s ...

Reactions were mixed in the mortgage industry and on Capitol Hill on the heels of an independent actuarial study that projected a deficit of $16.3 billion in the FHA insurance fund and a negative1.44 percent capital reserve ratio. The FY2012 annual actuarial report to Congress on the condition of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund reignited the debate on whether the FHA’s solvency issues may be resolved without a taxpayer bailout. The capital reserve ratio dropped from 0.24 percent at the end of FY2011, which is already way below the ...

Some real estate agents are refusing to accept offers from buyers using FHA financing prompting minority rights advocates to question whether racial discrimination is causing the problem or some other factors. While illegal flipping and steering that targeted minority communities appear to have abated, bias against borrowers using FHA financing continues in the real estate market, according to Janis Bowdler, director of the Wealth-Building Policy project of the National Council of La Raza. Bowdler expressed her concern during a recent panel discussion of an FHA Working Paper on the FHA’s role in the housing finance market hosted by the Urban Institute. She said there have been reports of ...

Ginnie Mae is in sound financial health and poised to potentially absorb any FHA losses, if required, but the enduring fallout from Taylor, Bean & Whitaker’s collapse three years ago continues to plague the agency, according to an independent audit commissioned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General. The report by CliftonLarsonAllen disclosed no material weaknesses in Ginnie’s internal controls over financial reporting and no instance of legal or regulatory noncompliance during fiscal years 2012 and 2011. Ginnie’s loss reserves for its MBS program declined to $357.4 million in fiscal 2012, from $395.8 million at the end of fiscal 2011. “Ginnie Mae believes...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced changes to existing loss mitigation options to reduce the number of claims against the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.The changes will benefit qualified, distressed FHA borrowers, who will be able to qualify for FHA loss mitigation interventions and get more help than what was allowed under previous guidelines. HUD has issued a mortgagee letter to amend existing FHA Home Affordable Modification Program guidelines, the definition of “special forbearance,” and loss mitigation-priority guidelines. Specifically, HUD eliminated the ...

Private mortgage insurers have been making a slow comeback and reclaiming market share, thanks in part to policy changes adopted by the FHA, according to MI industry executives. Executives say MI penetration of the market has grown from 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2012 to anywhere between 8-10 percent in the third quarter, an increase they attributed in part to gaining market share from FHA. Currently, private MI companies account for approximately one-third of loans with loan-to-value ratios of 80 percent or more, which are also ...