Retail loan originations account for most new VA lending, but the correspondent channel plays an outsized role in the FHA market, especially in purchase-mortgage lending, according to a new analysis of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities data by Inside FHA/VA Lending. Over half (51.1 percent) of VA loans securitized through Ginnie MBS in the first quarter of 2016 were retail originations, but only 39.1 percent of FHA loans came through that channel. The biggest source of FHA loans was correspondent lenders, which accounted for 45.8 percent of loans securitized during the first three months of this year. That was actually slightly below the 49.2 percent correspondent share of FHA loans back in 2014 and 46.8 percent last year. Correspondents accounted for well over half (53.9 percent) of FHA purchase mortgages during the first quarter, while playing a more ... [ 3 charts ]

Senate appropriators have opted to set aside fiscal 2017 funding for FHA information technology upgrades rather than authorize the agency to charge lenders an administrative fee to pay for improvements. The committee approved the funding as part of its proposed Housing and Urban Development-Transportation budget for FY 2017. Appropriators set aside $13 million in specific funds for FHA IT improvements. HUD proposed that up to $30 million in fees would be charged to lenders on endorsements through Sept. 30, 2019. Collections from such fees would be credited as offsetting collections to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Specifically, HUD sought to use the collections to partially offset a requested $160 million funding for improvements to administrative contract support, FHA staffing and information technology. Congress has rejected the ...

Younger, active-service soldiers are outpacing non-military homebuyers under the age of 35 in home purchase – and they are buying larger, more expensive homes with VA loans, according to a new National Association of Realtors survey. The NAR survey, 2016 Veterans & Active Military Home Buyers and Sellers Profile, found quite a few contrasts between active-service military homebuyers and those who have never served. Of all homebuyers, 18 percent were veterans and 3 percent were in active military service. Of all home sellers, 21 percent were vets and 1 percent were active-military. According to the survey, the typical active-service homebuyer was a lot younger (median age of 34 years old) than non-military buyers (40 years old). The active-military homebuyer was more likely to be married and have several children living in the household. Consequently, they prefer larger single-family homes. Interestingly, the ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has called upon holders of VA-guaranteed single-family mortgage loans to extend forbearance to distressed homeowners affected by the severe storms and flooding in Louisiana and Texas. In recent guidance, the VA described measures VA lenders may employ to provide relief to disaster-stricken homeowners. The agency recommended careful counseling to see whether borrower difficulties are related to the storms or have been the result of other events. If appropriate, prepayments may be reapplied to cure or prevent a borrower default. Servicers also may consider loan modification without VA’s prior approval if certain regulatory conditions are met. Although the holder of the loan is ultimately responsible for determining when to initiate foreclosure or complete termination action, the VA has requested a 90-day freeze on ...

When it comes to stock price performance, it’s been an ugly year so far in 2016 for most of the nation’s publicly traded nonbanks, especially if their names happen to be Nationstar Mortgage, Ocwen Financial, PHH Corp. and Walter Investment Management Corp. And you might as well throw Stonegate Mortgage into that club as well. According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, these five firms have seen declines in their stock prices – as measured against their highs for the past year – ranging from 52.3 percent (Nationstar) to 82.1 percent (Ocwen). Two other nonbanks whose share prices haven’t suffered as much are...[Includes one data table]

An unanticipated decline in interest rates soured the hedging bets placed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the first quarter of 2016, leading to sharply lower net income at the two government-sponsored enterprises. The two GSEs booked a combined $7.37 billion in net derivative losses for the first quarter that nearly washed out income from their core businesses. Since 2012, when the two GSEs became profitable again, they have booked huge $23.46 billion in hedging losses. “As we’ve said for over a year now, our quarterly financial results are...

Although many banks wrestled with hedges for their mortgage servicing rights and loan production was generally down, the industry posted a solid increase in mortgage-banking earnings in the first quarter. A new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports filed by 26 major banks showed a combined $3.450 billion in mortgage-banking income during the first quarter. That was up 12.3 percent from their fourth-quarter earnings of ... [Includes one data chart]

An increasing number of financial institutions with a vested interest in mortgage servicing rights are showing a renewed interest in hedging against declining interest rates – something you might think they would already be doing. “You’d be surprised at who’s not hedging,” said Austin Tilghman, senior vice president of United Capital Markets, Denver. “Some mid-sized nonbanks just don’t get it.” Tilghman knows quite a bit about firms – banks included – that don’t ...

The funding models used by prominent nonbank servicers subject the firms to significant risks, according to Moody’s Investors Service, which predicted that the companies’ profitability will improve only marginally in 2016. The Moody’s analysis focused on Nationstar Mortgage, Ocwen Financial and Walter Investment Management. “All three nonbank servicers’ reliance on confidence-sensitive, short-term funding heightens their liquidity and refinancing risk,” said Warren Kornfeld ...

Many borrowers who apply for a mortgage with a partner miss out on lower interest rates due to lenders’ standards regarding credit scores, according to research by economists at the Federal Reserve. Applying for a mortgage solo can lead to substantial cost savings, though determining whether to take that option can be complicated. Geng Li, Weifeng Wu, and Vincent Yao detailed their findings in a FEDS Notes article published by the Fed. The analysis was based on ...