The U.S. Treasury Department this week called for a major technology push in financial markets that includes big upgrades in government mortgage-insurance programs. While most of the proposals could be accomplished by the agencies themselves, they also require funding from Congress. A new Treasury report backed Trump administration proposals to fund FHA technology up-grades, some of which could be used to expand digitalization of loan files. Funding legislation on ...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac generated a combined $6.96 billion in net income during the second quarter of 2018, down from $7.19 billion in the first three months of the year. While Fannie posted a solid 4.6 percent quarterly increase, hitting $4.46 billion in the most recent period, Freddie’s net income was down 14.5 percent from the first quarter. At the midway point in 2018, both government-sponsored enterprises were way ahead of where they were in the first six months of last year ...
Lenders will be asking the Department of Housing and Urban Development to clarify the eligibility of borrowers with deferred immigration status for an FHA-insured loan. A mortgage industry trade group is currently drafting a letter on “a series of technical FHA handbook recommendations,” including greater clarity on loan applications submitted by borrowers registered under the government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA status was offered to children who were brought illegally into the U.S. by their parents or guardians but have been in the country for most of their lives. The program was created by the Obama administration as a way for recipients to work legally in the country while Congress could agree on what to do with them. The program faces uncertainty after President Trump rescinded it in September last year as part of his administration’s zero-tolerance immigration ...
More than half of FHA-insured loans analyzed for material defects have been mitigated over a 12-month period, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest quarterly loan-review analysis. Approximately 31,396 loans were analyzed over four quarters for possible defects, beginning in the third quarter of 2017 and ending the second quarter of 2018. Approximately 59.8 percent of the reviewed loans were initially deemed unacceptable. HUD data showed that most, 54.1 percent, of the loans reviewed have been successfully mitigated. The report provides a quarter-by-quarter snapshot of the FHA’s Loan Review System results. Net defects represent outcomes after lenders have implemented methods and techniques to mitigate or remediate the initial findings. Of the reviewed loans, 24.7 percent were conforming while 15.5 percent were found to be deficient. About 0.2 percent of loans were ...