CWCOT, EVARS Webinars Scheduled. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has scheduled free webinars to provide FHA lenders an overview of Mortgagee Letter 2014-24, which deals with the increasing use of FHA’s Claims Without Conveyance of Title procedures. Discussion will include how foreclosing on FHA properties may differ from previous guidelines; requirements for appraisals; bidding instructions; and claim requirements. Personnel who deal with foreclosure valuation, claims and default reporting, real estate auction attorneys and foreclosure attorneys are encouraged to attend. Webinars will be held on Jan. 12 and Jan. 20, 2015, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. EST. For more information, email: stacey.a.brown@hud.gov. Free training webinars on “HUD Extension of Time and Variance Request System,” will be held on ...

Lowering premiums now would only put the FHA MMIF further behind, the House Financial Services Committee chairman argued.

Mortgage lenders are delirious about lower FHA premiums, right? Well, not everyone.

HUD Secretary Castro said the MMIF is on a “positive trajectory,” though he admits the premium reduction could delay its recovery...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a modest decline in production of new single-family mortgage-backed securities at the end of 2014, but a rally in refinance lending softened the thud. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $179.38 billion of single-family MBS during the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of loan-level data. That was down 2.1 percent from the third quarter of 2014. But the GSEs securitized...[Includes three data charts]

SunTrust Banks started off the new year reliving the pain of the last six years since the financial crisis by revealing it plans to take yet another financial hit – this time, a $145 million legal expense in its fourth quarter results tied to legacy mortgage issues. In a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission early this week, David Wisniewski, deputy general counsel, said the bank was taking the charge “to increase legal reserves and complete the final resolution of one matter. Accordingly, based on current information, the company expects its estimate of reasonably possible losses related to legal matters, in excess of reserves, to decrease by approximately this amount.” Wisniewski did not specify...

The National Association of Realtors recently estimated that in 2014, nearly 234,000 creditworthy borrowers were priced out of the housing market because of high FHA insurance premiums.

SunTrust wouldn’t comment on the charge other than to note that the issue has been previously disclosed.

In addition to the $36 million judgment against Golden First, Movtady was ordered to pay a $300,000 penalty within six months.

Are recent graduates of business schools avoiding the mortgage industry?