Freddie Mac's CFO said the "true value" provided by the government-sponsored enterprises isn't billions of dollars in profits. Meanwhile, firms continue to pursue mortgage servicing rights.
The House Financial Services Committee this week reported out a legislative package of housing finance system reforms, including measures designed to reduce FHA’s role in the mortgage marketplace, strengthen lender oversight and avoid a potential taxpayer bailout. The bill, Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act (H.R. 2767), passed by a vote of 30 to 27 despite mixed responses from industry experts, academics, financial trade associations and consumer advocates. Critics called for changes. Offered by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, the bill proposes ...
FHA officials, industry groups and consumer advocates appear to be leaning more towards a Senate FHA reform bill that is moderate and far less ambitious than legislation approved by the House Financial Services Committee this week. Introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Minority Member Mike Crapo, R-ID, the FHA Solvency Act of 2013 “focuses on the right issues, not like the House bill, which tries to dramatically alter the program and affect borrower eligibility,” said an industry observer. Testifying as the sole witness at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on FHA solvency this week, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said ...
A former FHA commissioner said he supports a proposal in the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act (PATH Act) to spin off the FHA from the Department of Housing and Urban Development as an independent government-owned corporation. Brian Montgomery, who was assistant secretary for housing and head of the FHA during the Bush administration, said the separation, if enacted, would transfer authority, resources and personnel from HUD to the FHA to manage the insurance fund. “This is something I have advocated both during and after my more than four-year tenure as FHA commissioner,” said Montgomery, who ...
The FHA is trailing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Veterans Affairs in the disposition of real estate-owned properties, according to a new study from the Government Accountability Office. The study found that FHA’s net proceeds from REO sales from January 2007 through June 2012 were about 4 to 6 percentage points lower than Fannie’s and Freddie’s returns. The differences in combined returns between FHA and the government-sponsored enterprises persisted at an estimated 2 to 5 percent even after controlling for differences in value, location, market conditions and other relevant factors. In addition, the FHA took about ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has updated its lender requirements for preforeclosure sale (short sale) and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure for implementation on Oct. 1 this year. The short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure are the last options available to a distressed borrower if home-retention options, such as special forbearance, loan modification, partial claim, and FHA’s Home Affordable Modification Program are not successful. A short sale allows the borrower to avoid foreclosure by selling the home for less than the loan balance. The lender recovers the remainder from ...
Ginnie Mae servicers continued to experience modest increases in servicing outstanding while FHA servicers reported a slight increase in 30-to-60 day delinquencies, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of the agencies’ servicing portfolios as of midyear 2013. As of June 30, Ginnie Mae’s total servicing outstanding was $1.4 trillion, an increase of 6.6 percent from last year and up 1.8 percent from the first quarter, reflecting improvements in government-backed loan originations due to a slowly recovering economy. Ginnie Mae servicing volume has been ... [2 charts]
Some of the nation’s largest banks – including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo – have begun cutting mortgage production workers as refi applications decline. But it remains to be seen just how many of the 215,000 full-time mortgage-related positions – excluding loan brokers – will see pink slips over the rest of the year. “What we’re seeing is a natural outcome of contraction as the market slips and changes to a purchase business,” said Dave Stevens, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association. He declined to give any job cut estimates, but predicted that residential lenders of all different charters and types will move to “right-size their organizations.” Some bearish industry officials believe...
RSS