The FHA and VA reached a milestone of sorts in the second quarter of 2017 when both agencies hit their lowest delinquency levels in as many years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s quarterly survey of mortgage delinquencies nationwide. The FHA delinquency rate fell to 7.94 percent from 8.09 percent in the first quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, reaching its lowest level since 1996. Also on a seasonally adjusted basis, the VA delinquency rate declined to 3.72 percent from 3.90 percent in the previous quarter, the lowest it has been since 1979. Mortgage delinquencies also decreased for conventional loans on a seasonally adjusted basis. It dropped to 3.47 percent from 4.04 percent in the first quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. Overall, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on single-family residential homes fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.24 percent of all ...

The FHA this week extended temporary rules for approving condominium projects for FHA financing indefinitely. The extension will remain in place until the condominium rulemaking process is completed, the agency said in a mortgagee letter. Temporary approval requirements were first issued in 2012 and later modified in 2015. The current temporary provisions expired on Aug. 31, 2017. Under a proposed rule issued for comment on Sept. 27, 2016, elderly condominium owners would find it easier to obtain a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. FHA proposes to reinstate “spot condo” approvals whereby individual units are approved by FHA rather than the entire condominium project as required under current rules. Spot-condo approvals would require property recertification every three years rather than the current two-year requirements. Processing recertifications would be streamlined under the ...

As Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters recede, federal agencies that provide guarantees on mortgages are faced with the daunting task of identifying and assisting borrowers with government-backed mortgages in disaster-stricken areas of Texas. FHA, VA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service and Ginnie Mae have issued special relief guidance for approved lenders following Hurricane Harvey. The FHA has issued guidance to remind lenders and servicers that FHA-insured mortgages secured by properties in a presidentially-declared major disaster area are subject to a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures following a natural disaster. FHA also provides lenders an automatic 90-day extension upon expiration of the moratorium to begin or re-start foreclosure action or evaluate the borrower’s need for loss mitigation. In addition, FHA urged servicers to brush up on the 203(h) and the ...

Commercial banks and savings institutions saw a modest improvement in profits earned on mortgage-banking activities during the second quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call report data. In aggregate, banks and thrifts earned $3.72 billion from mortgage banking during the second quarter, a 4.4 percent increase from the first three months of the year. Year-to-date, industry mortgage-banking income was running ... [Includes one data chart]

For a firm that’s only been involved in the mortgage industry for a year, Eli Global has already bought a stake in two lending companies, inched its way into the warehouse lending arena – and become a plaintiff in a messy lawsuit that accuses a veteran mortgage banker of fraud. So far – except for the lawsuit filed by Eli Global affiliate CapLoc – the Durham, NC-based financial services company has kept a low profile while turning down repeated requests for interviews ...

The end of a long-term decline in interest rates will trigger a resurgence of the second-lien market and alter the mortgage market in other areas as well, according to a working paper published by the Urban Institute. How much mortgage rates will rise is unclear, but the 35-year secular decline in interest rates is over, author Laurie Goodman maintained in her preliminary study, “The Impact of Higher Interest Rates on the Mortgage Market.” Goodman, co-director of UI’s Housing Finance ...

Wells Fargo – the nation’s largest home lender and servicer – has apparently won the bid for Seneca Mortgage and its $53.6 billion servicing portfolio, sending shockwaves through the market. But as Inside Mortgage Finance went to press this week, the jury was still out on whether this was a “one-off” opportunistic purchase or, perhaps, the start of a trend toward depositories showing renewed interest in mortgage servicing rights. For now, Wells isn’t...

Federal banking regulators announced this week that capital requirements set to take effect in January for all but the biggest banks would be suspended under a proposed rule. The proposal applies to Basel III capital requirements for mortgage servicing rights, among other items. The regulators said they are developing a proposal that would simplify capital rules to reduce regulatory burden, particularly for community banks. The proposed suspension generally applies to banks with less than $250 billion in total assets. Thomas Hoenig, vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said...

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS fell to just $200.5 billion in July, the weakest reading of the year, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Compared to the prior month, MBS trading fell by 4.5 percent. The strongest month of the year came in January at $229.8 billion. In general, a lower reading on average daily trading volume means...

Simplifying and aligning the default servicing policies of the conventional conforming and the government-backed mortgage markets would better serve the mortgage industry and homeowners, according to industry experts. In a recent discussion on how regulatory burden and high servicing costs might impede lending, members of the Mortgage Servicing Collaborative agreed on the need for streamlined and harmonized federal, state and agency policies and rules on servicing. Increased regulatory requirements have caused mortgage-servicing costs to skyrocket in recent years, experts said. Even though the quality of servicing has improved, the new regulations are complex and costly, they noted. Multiple pressures placed upon servicers have suppressed mortgage lending, making it harder for borrowers with tainted credit to obtain a mortgage, according to the ...