In a poll conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance, just 14 percent of respondents said they were against a cut in FHA premiums.

At least some factions of the industry are happy about the FHA not cutting premiums, including Ed Pinto of AEI…

Brian Montgomery’s proposed Office of National Housing Policy would be headed by a “housing policy czar…”

One loan officer said FHA should consider building a "true jumbo program that is exclusive of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…”

Lenders interviewed by Inside Mortgage Finance were disappointed with the news that the MIP reduction would be scuttled, though some factions of the housing industry remain optimistic.

Mortgage default rates appeared to spike higher in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a new analysis and servicer ranking by Inside FHA/VA Lending. Some 5.51 percent of FHA loans in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities pools were reported as 30- to 60-days past due at the end of December. That was up 80 basis points from the previous quarter and was easily the highest default rate in the past three years. FHA default rates were also up in more serious delinquency categories: loans 60- to 90-days past due and those over 90-days late. The figures are based on loan count and are not seasonally adjusted. Similar trends occurred in the VA home loan guaranty program. The 30-60 category was up 41 bps, while 90+ delinquencies jumped 19 bps. The supply of Ginnie single-family MBS outstanding continued to set new records. The total, not including multifamily and FHA home-equity conversion ... [4 charts]

The Trump administration has officially set aside the 25 basis point cut in FHA annual premiums in a new mortgagee letter issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Mortgagee Letter 2017-07 said that the annual-premium reduction HUD announced on Jan. 9 “has been suspended indefinitely.” Stakeholders will be notified in the event of a policy change, the letter added. The letter confirms reports earlier in the week that the FHA pricing adjustment was about to be spiked. Ben Carson, who had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee last week, told lawmakers that he planned to work with the FHA director and financial experts to review the cut. However, the HUD secretary-designate gave no indication as to whether he favored a premium reduction that would benefit thousands of ...

VA originations have been trending upward over several quarters, thanks to an unusually heavy share of refinance business, but all good things, at some point, must slow down, lenders say. The refinance business overall has fallen to 45 percent from 55 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, and that will have an effect on VA originations in the first quarter of 2017, said Andy May, chief operating officer of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association Mortgage Division. Going forward, May expects VA originations to fall by 10 percent in the first quarter due to rising interest rates. But even though rates have been trending up, May saw an uptick in VA loan applications in January as fence-sitters jumped into the market to take out a loan before rates went any higher. “The MBA estimates rates will rise above 5 percent in the next 24 months and then down to 4.8 percent by the end of 2018, and up to 5.3 percent at the ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has codified significant changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program that have reduced risks to both FHA and reverse mortgage borrowers. Specifically, the rule codifies existing HECM policies implemented by mortgagee letters, implements statutory changes, issues new origination and servicing policies, and clarifies existing regulatory language. HUD said it has established an eight-month lead time between the publication of the final rule and the effective date, Sept. 19, 2017, to provide lenders enough time to understand the rule and plan for necessary changes. The grace period also allows time for FHA to issue guidance and make system changes. The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association expressed support for the final rule. “Personally, I am glad to see this final rule get out the door,” said NRMLA President and ...

Preet Bharara, the Department of Justice’s top prosecutor of FHA fraud and legacy mortgage-backed securities cases, has accepted President Donald Trump’s request to stay on as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The question is whether Bharara, who was nominated by President Obama in 2009, will be as aggressive as he was under the previous administration in holding FHA lenders accountable for faulty business practices that result in huge taxpayer losses. Since 2009, Bharara’s aggressive enforcement has resulted in cases filed against large and regional FHA lenders alleging fraud in violation of the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act. Except for two cases that went to trial, all the other FCA/FIRREA cases against FHA lenders ended in consent orders and huge settlements. The DOJ’s (and Bharara’s) vigorous enforcement of the two statutes, both of which provide for hefty monetary penalties, have forced many larger banks to exit the ...