The number of FHA lenders subject to administrative actions by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in FY 2017 declined from the previous fiscal year, according to the latest report from the Mortgagee Review Board. Published in the April 25 Federal Register, the report showed the number of FHA lenders that were hammered with civil money penalties, lost FHA approval, and received suspensions, probations, and reprimands from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017, fell to 20 from 25 in FY 2016. But the biggest change was in the number of lenders cited and disciplined for violation of FHA’s annual recertification requirements. Lenders that failed to meet the recertification requirements in a timely manner but eventually came into compliance totaled 52 in FY 2017, down from 106 in fiscal 2016. On the other hand, 23 lenders agreed to settle with HUD after they failed to ...

Guild Mortgage has announced an FHA-backed financing program that would allow homebuyers to finance solar panels through a mortgage when purchasing a house. It is not Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, which has similar goals but is prohibited by FHA because it asserts lien superiority over all other liens, including a residential mortgage. Guild developed the program, FHA Solar, with FHA to ensure adherence to all agency loan requirements, according to a company representative. “It sounds like Guild slapped their own brand on a loan product that appears to fit among FHA’s various energy-efficient programs, not to be confused with PACE obligations, which are no longer a part of our single-family insurance program,” said a Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesman. FHA Solar is available to residents in California. It provides homebuyers the ...

Roughly two years ago, Annaly bought Hatteras Financial, Winston-Salem, NC, in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.

The NAR is hoping that a cut in g-fees (and LLPAs) ultimately will be passed down to consumers – who buy homes from NAR’s members.

Nonbank mortgage lenders have been reporting weak profit margins since January, a situation that has some in the industry alarmed while others believe that as originations increase in the months ahead the tough times will dissipate.

Freddie CEO Donald Layton told Inside MBS & ABS that implementation of the FHFA directive “has largely been complete.”

Compared to March 2017, the combined nonbank servicing business was up 14.7 percent, while banks in the top 50 saw a 2.4 percent decline from a year ago.

CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney: “I don’t know why we call it the CFPB; that is not the name of the organization..."

Ocwen has tried to mend its ways, noting in the new report: “We have now resolved all of the state cease and desist orders (but not all of the legal actions) taken against us….”

Impac has yet to disclose when it might release first quarter results.