The Department of Housing and Urban Development has delayed the implementation of a new requirement to assess the financial condition of borrowers seeking a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan, which was to take effect on Jan. 13. HUD’s decision to delay responds to an industry concern that the initial effective date does not give lenders sufficient time to customize appropriate software, hire and train new underwriters and complete other critical implementation tasks. It would take at least three months to do all these things, lenders said.

Despite an increase in primary market mortgage rates during the third quarter of 2013, banks and thrifts were cautious in raising the valuations they placed on their mortgage servicing rights, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data. Banks and thrifts serviced $4.770 trillion in mortgages for the benefit of other investors, typically as a result of securitization. As an industry, they assigned a fair-market value of $48.4 billion for these assets ... [Includes one data chart]

Increases to the guaranty fees charged by the government-sponsored enterprises could prompt some changes for lenders. While execution with the GSEs will remain more attractive than issuing non-agency mortgage-backed securities, new loan-level pricing adjustments could shift some business to portfolio and to the FHA. The Federal Housing Finance Agency last week announced changes to GSE MBS g-fees that will amount to an average increase of approximately 11 basis points, to be implemented in March and April ...

The trend of deconsolidation among mortgage lenders is likely to reverse due to the advantages of large lenders, according to projections from Fannie Mae. “The recent decline in large-lender share of the primary market is temporary, and principally a result of cyclical factors that caused larger lenders to pull back from the market,” said Gerry Flood, director of strategic planning in Fannie’s economic and strategic research division. Flood cautioned that the projections don’t take ...

With residential originations expected to fall by 25 percent next year, some mortgage executives are predicting grim news in terms of new hiring, especially in any field tied to loan production. But as always, there are always a few “silver linings” in any downdraft, mortgage banking being no exception to the rule. A handful of firms say they are still aggressively recruiting residential loan officers who have a solid background in purchase-money lending – that is, sales professionals with deep ties to ...

The end-of-draw period for home-equity lines-of-credit originated 10 years ago isn’t the only concern for banks, according to federal regulators. Fair-lending violations are also a risk in cases where lenders reduced credit limits on HELOCs or suspended the loans due to declines in home prices. Many lenders suspended borrowers’ HELOCs in recent years or reduced credit limits due to significant declines in home prices, according to the Federal Reserve. “The manner in which HELOC accounts ... [Includes one data chart]

Severe decreases in the FHA loan limits in numerous counties across the country have spurred industry demand for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to disclose the methodology and process it used to determine the new loan limits. Although HUD’s announcement of lower FHA loan limits for 2014 had been long expected, mortgage industry participants were caught off guard by the substantial reductions in FHA loan limits caused by the statutory change in how the limits are calculated and by revised median house prices. For 2014, HUD announced that the national ceiling limit for single-family mortgages in high-cost areas would decline to ... [1 chart]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released a final rule defining a “qualified mortgage” that is insured by the FHA. The final rule will be effective on Jan. 10, 2014. The HUD rule builds off the QM/Ability-to-Repay rule, which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized earlier this year. The Dodd-Frank Act requires HUD to propose a QM definition that is aligned with the ability-to-repay criteria set out in the Truth in Lending Act and with the agency’s mission to ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may formally address the treatment of affiliate fees in the points-and-fees calculation for qualified mortgages under the agency’s ability-to-repay rule, which takes effect in just a few weeks. Until such a decision is made, industry representatives have put together some guidance on how to exclude such fees from that 3 percent cap. “There has been significant industry confusion concerning the extent to which affiliate fees are included in the points-and-fees calculation, particularly when only a portion of a fee is retained by an affiliate,” the Mortgage Bankers Association said early this week. The trade group has put together a document outlining its understanding of the CFPB’s definitive guidance, based on discussions with bureau staff, on the treatment of affiliate fees in both the qualified mortgage and the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act points-and-fees calculations. “Please keep in mind...

Mortgage banking income fell sharply in the third quarter and the compliance outlook remained murky, but banks reported a huge improvement in loan buybacks, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data. Banks and thrifts repurchased or provided other indemnification totaling $1.998 billion during the third quarter, the lowest quarterly amount for the industry in five years. Banks first began reporting repurchase data in their call reports ... [Includes one data chart]