Reverse mortgage lenders started out strong in the first three month of 2018 with a 19.2 percent increase in Home Equity Conversion Mortgage production from the previous period. HECM endorsements totaled $5.4 billion in the first quarter, with purchase reverse loans accounting for the bulk of originations, 81.9 percent. First quarter production was up 18.5 percent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, HECM mortgage-backed securities issuance totaled $2.97 billion for the quarter, down from $3.25 billion in the prior quarter, Ginnie Mae data showed. The top five HECM originators in sequential order – American Advisors Group, Reverse Mortgage Funding, One Reverse Mortgage, Liberty Home Equity Solutions, and Synergy One Lending – accounted for $1.66 billion, or 30.8 percent, of total production during the first quarter. American Advisors maintained its top ranking with $841.4 million of HECM loans, which ... [Charts]

Issuance of mortgage securities backed by USDA loans dropped during the first three months of 2018. Approximately $4.03 billion of rural housing loans with a USDA guarantee were delivered in Ginnie Mae MBS during the first quarter, down 18.3 percent from the previous quarter. Agency data also showed an 11.7 percent decline in USDA securitization volume from the same period a year ago. Rural housing loans accounted for 1.5 percent of all loans securitized in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae pools and 2.8 percent of loans with private or government-backed mortgage insurance. Purchase loans comprised the bulk of USDA loans that were delivered into Ginnie MBS pools. PennyMac knocked Freedom Mortgage out of first place with a total of $753.3 million in securitized USDA loans despite a 10.4 percent decline in production. Freedom Mortgage accounted for $523.3 million of USDA loans pooled in ... [Charts]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency seeks oversight of counterparties that provide services to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, according to its 2017 annual report to Congress published this week. In addition to reporting examination activity, the FHFA offers legislative recommendations. The agency discussed the regulated entities’ heavy involvement with third parties who provide “critical services” supporting the secondary mortgage market. The agency said this includes nonbank mortgage servicers for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And while oversight of these counterparties is important to the safety and soundness of the GSEs, the FHFA argued that oversight can only happen now through contractual provisions.

Mel Watt has a good seven months left on his term as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, but already the industry rumor mill is speculating on whom the White House might pick to replace him.So far, the names run the gamut – from “reasonable” picks such as Treasury counselor Craig Phillips or acting Ginnie Mae President Michael Bright, to some odd choices: former FHFA acting director Ed DeMarco or current House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX.Few in the industry buy the Hensarling choice except for the fact he’s an arch conservative, something President Trump likes in his appointees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should not take enforcement action against securitization trusts for the acts of servicers, the Structured Finance Industry Group said.

Neither PHH Corp. nor the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will ask the Supreme Court of the United States to review a lower court decision that overturned the agency’s controversial interpretation of anti-kickback provisions in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

Actions by a number of private mortgage insurers to cut borrower-paid premium rates would enhance affordability and enable private MIs to increase their market share at FHA’s expense, according to an analysis from the Urban Institute. So far, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Genworth Mortgage Insurance and Radian Guaranty have announced reductions in their respective monthly and single-premium borrower-paid premium rates. The premium cuts will affect more than just affordability, said UI. On March 6, the company announced that it is reducing borrower-paid single-premium rates in most FICO buckets, effective for all MI applications received on or after March 19, 2018. The Philadelphia-based MI also reminded clients that previously announced single-premium restrictions on debt-to-income ratios exceeding 45 percent and a FICO score below 700, or DTI exceeding ...

Recent structural changes and new priorities at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will significantly reduce the bureau’s ability to police discriminatory lending, the Brookings Institute said.

The inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency voiced concerns about the agency’s supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while lawmakers questioned why new products like the Integrated Mortgage Insurance (IMAGIN) credit risk-transfer program were implemented without going through the proper channels.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s supervision and guidance of the GSEs lacks the rigor shown by other federal financial regulators, according to the FHFA’s inspector general, Laura Wertheimer. She testified during a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing this week focusing on the oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Throughout the hearing, Wertheimer and lawmakers pointed to a number of supervisory concerns and questioned the FHFA’s standards when it comes to monitoring the mortgage giants. “The flexible and less prescriptive nature of many FHFA standards and much of its guidance has resulted in inconsistent supervisory practices,” she said.