Borrower demand for jumbo mortgages declined somewhat in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, and banks plan on loosening underwriting standards for the loans, according to the Federal Reserve’s senior loan officer opinion survey. Industry participants stress that underwriting standards for jumbos remain strong, with poor performance unlikely. Senior LOs were asked to evaluate demand for purchase mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2015 ...

The FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is projected to generate $9.1 billion in profits in FY 2017 but officials say they will not be reducing mortgage insurance premiums any time soon. Released this week, the White House’s proposed budget projects FHA will insure $204 billion in new forward, single-family mortgages with a negative credit subsidy of 4.42 percent for each loan, resulting in a projected profit of $9.1 billion. In fiscal 2016, the program is expected to generate $7.7 billion in profits. Separately, for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, the proposed budget is projecting $18.5 billion in new reverse mortgage loans with a negative credit rate of 0.33 percent, netting $61 million in profits. During a budget briefing, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said there are no plans to change the current mortgage insurance premium. “We want to ensure our ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors have recommended policy changes the VA Home Loan Guaranty program could adopt to make it work better for veteran borrowers. The two industry groups offered their recommendations during a hearing before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on the VA program. Testifying on behalf of the MBA, James Danis, president of Residential Mortgage Corp., urged the VA to issue a clear, final qualified mortgage rule for VA lending. The agency has had an interim final rule on QM and ability to repay in place since May 9, 2014, when it was published in the Federal Register. The VA recently issued guidance for lenders to better understand the standards but gave no indication as to when a final rule will be released. Danis recommended that the final rule provide an ample implementation period to ...

While they are effective, the VA’s Frequently-Asked-Questions on the qualified mortgage interim final rule provide helpful guidance on certain aspects of Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans (IRRRLs) origination as they relate to the VA QM rule, according to an analysis by the Washington, DC, law firm K&L Gates. The intricacies of IRRRL treatment under the interim final rule suggest the product may continue to be subject to ambiguities disproportionate to its limited role in the mortgage marketplace, wrote authors Kristie Kully and Eric Mitzenmacher, attorneys with the firm. VA’s interim final rule provides that all VA loans are QMs. The authors note that while most VA loans are safe harbor QMs under the rule, certain streamlined refinance loans (IRRRLs) are entitled only to a rebuttable presumption. Under the VA interim final rule, an IRRRL is deemed to have safe harbor QM status if the ...

Certain aggregators of FHA loans are reportedly refusing to purchase FHA streamline refinance loans, fearing shoddy underwriting on the original loan might raise compliance issues down the road. How widespread is the problem is unclear but an industry consultant, who was tipped off by other aggregators, said the problem seems more of a servicing nature, rather than origination. Prior to 2010, FHA lenders originated many streamline refis with seller-funded downpayment assistance. Many of these loans ended up with high default rates, prompting FHA to eliminate seller-funded DPA and to tighten the FHA streamline refi program. Streamline refi originations fell and the program saw very little activity until the FHA revived the program with changes during the crisis to spur lending and help FHA borrowers refinance. Streamline refis do not require full underwriting. The basic requirements are that the mortgage to be refinanced must be FHA-insured, current on the ...

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, earlier this month expressed concern about the sale of nonperforming loans to private investors without sufficient protections for homeowners and neighborhoods. Both lawmakers fear that FHA may not be providing enough incentives to servicers to modify ailing mortgages and that certain investors may be more interested in foreclosure than a cure. The influx of private investors has crowded out first-time homebuyers and raised concerns about the long-term effects of investor-owned homes in communities where foreclosures run high. In a joint letter, the two lawmakers sought information from the Department of Housing and Urban Development about ...

House Approves Legislation Streamlining FHA Condo Rules, Allowing DE Lenders for USDA. Housing reform legislation that would ease FHA restrictions on condominium financing and allow delegation of loan approval authority to qualified lenders under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural housing programs passed the House last week by a vote of 427-0. Described as an FHA reform bill, H.R. 3700, the “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act,” would modify FHA requirements for condo mortgages by streamlining FHA’s project certification requirements to qualify condominiums for FHA financing as well as making recertification less burdensome. H.R. 3700 would also expand the USDA’s Section 502 Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan Program for single families by delegating loan-approval authority to certain participating lenders. FHA and VA loan programs already ...

Will TRID Errors Crimp Earnings? Market observers have been hearing reports that TRID errors and closing delays definitely will be affecting first quarter 2016 earnings, at least for certain nonbanks. The big test for nonbank mortgage stocks is expected to come later this month when PHH Corp., the parent of PHH Mortgage, the nation’s ninth largest servicer, reports 4Q15 results. PHH, which is battling the CFPB over RESPA issues, also has been smacked around by servicing write-downs. It likely got some relief on that score in 4Q15. Stay tuned... CFPB Tries to Clear the TRID Air on Construction Loans. Not only has the CFPB’s TRID rule delayed closings in the conventional market, but it’s being reported that the regulation has ...

Mortgage banking income generally declined for commercial banks and thrifts in the fourth quarter, although 2015 was generally more profitable than the previous year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings releases. A diverse group of 25 banks reported a total of $3.046 billion in mortgage-banking income for the fourth quarter. That was down 14.8 percent from the previous three-month period, and it marked the group’s lowest ... [Includes one data chart]

The financial crisis has led to a broader, more demanding quality control process to ensure that mistakes are never repeated and that financial institutions adhere strictly to compliance requirements. As a result, mortgage lenders are much more vulnerable now to enforcement actions if they are found to have inadequate controls in place or to be noncompliant. One of the pitfalls lenders worry about is being held responsible – and potentially liable – for the actions of third-party ...