The Department of Veterans Affairs FY 2017 budget is seeking $34 million for the VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) to manage the 2.4 million VA mortgages in portfolio. VALERI connects VA with more than 225,000 approved mortgage servicers and an estimated 320,000 veteran borrowers. Specifically, the system is used to manage and monitor servicer and VA staff activities aimed at providing timely and appropriate loss-mitigation assistance to defaulted borrowers. Without these resources, approximately 90,000 veterans and their families would be in danger of losing their homes each year, the VA said. Furthermore, this could cost the VA $2.8 billion a year in additional expense. In addition, VALERI also supports payment of guaranty and acquisition claims.Meanwhile, starting March 19, VA servicers began using the new version of the bulk upload templates to ...

House Financial Services Committee Passes Flood Insurance Bill. The House Financial Services Committee recently voted to advance legislation that would provide a private flood insurance alternative to the federal National Flood Insurance Program for homeowners required to purchase flood insurance. H.R. 2901, the Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act, passed by a unanimous vote of 53-0 and was sent to the House floor for consideration. A Senate counterpart bill, S. 1679, which was reintroduced by Sen. Dean Heller, R-NV, last year, is awaiting action in the Committee of Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Both bills were introduced jointly in both the House and the Senate in 2015. Currently, due to uncertainty as to whether the coverage satisfies federal requirements, many lenders are reluctant to issue mortgages for homes with ...

An estimated $1.21 trillion of newly-originated home loans were pooled in mortgage securities last year.

If stocks tank, look for yet another bond market rally.

The GSEs’ retained portfolios are shrinking, but whole-loan investments held by banks and credit unions are not.

Prestwick is out with a flow package that could yield $360 million to $480 million annually in Fannie Mae product.

There are two sides to the story. A year from now, the agency MBS market could reach the $6.0 trillion mark...

A Realtor based in California noted that selling prices are generally increasing, but at widely disparate rates based on location...

Increases in demand on the FHA single-family program are having collateral implications for the integrity of Ginnie Mae’s MBS programs, including the potential for more fraud, warned the Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general. Testifying during a recent Senate budget hearing, HUD Inspector General David Montoya said Ginnie issuer defaults historically have been infrequent, involving small to moderate-size issuers. “However, major unanticipated issuer defaults beginning in 2009 have led...

DeMarco, by the way, called on Congress to take a “thoughtful” review of the FHA program and Ginnie Mae’s role in housing finance.