Through three quarters this year, retail originations fell 20.2 percent while brokers saw a 10.3 percent production drop and correspondent lending declined by only 1.8 percent.

Certain temporary modifications have been made to allow lenders to submit demographic information if the currently available fields in the system match the data submitted. Otherwise, just leave the fields blank, according to the FHA.

Issuance of mortgage securities backed by USDA loans rose 9.3 percent in the third quarter from the prior period.

The Government Accountability Office, in a new report, urged Congress to specify the economic conditions it believes the FHA mortgage insurance fund can withstand without supplemental funds.

Congressional leaders are working behind closed doors on a stopgap-spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown and keep federal agencies operating past Dec. 22.

Mortgage lenders and servicers chalked up a win following a federal appeals court decision that would make it harder for the government and whistleblowers to pursue a claim under the False Claims Act.

Lenders continue to be hit with steep False Claims Act penalties despite assurances by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson that he would address the FCA issue.

Correspondents, which account for a large percentage of government-insured lending, saw their share grow in 2017 even as retail went through a production slump, according to an analysis by Inside FHA/ VA Lending.

Ginnie Mae’s latest efforts to rein in serial VA refinancing and rapid prepayments in mortgage-backed securities pools augur additional changes to pooling and refi requirements at Ginnie and the Department of Veterans Affairs, analysts said.