The merger of SunTrust Banks and BB&T Corp. will create a new entity that would have ranked among the top 20 Ginnie Mae issuers and servicers in 2018.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage originations declined in December-January due in part to the recent government shutdown and an overall slowdown in HECM activity, according to an analysis by Situs, Inc.

Congress is reportedly considering a legislative proposal to charge higher guarantee fees for VA mortgages to cover healthcare costs of Korean and Vietnam War veterans who were ex-posed to herbicides, such as Agent Orange and other toxic agents.

A Wall Street lobbying group has urged the Department of Veteran Affairs to change its cash-out refinance interim final rule, calling par-ticular attention to the net tangible benefit provision.

Industry representatives are urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to delay an interim final rule on VA cash-out refinance loans for fear that lenders may stop offering the product.

Government-backed originations fell significantly in the fourth quarter of 2018 due to a decline in purchase lending even as year-over-year results reflected the uncertainty in last year’s government-backed mortgage market. [Includes three data charts.]

HUD receives share in settlement under False Claim Act; Implementation date for EAD system postponed; Issuance of HMBS declines year over year.

Ginnie Mae has not yet decided a date for its 2019 annual summit but it may be “soon,” said an agency spokesman.

Conventional and VA-backed home mortgages are the most common type of mortgage products that servicemembers complained about to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to the agency’s latest analysis.

The real estate industry is calling for the immediate release of the long-overdue final FHA condominium rules to enable more projects to qualify for FHA-insured financing.