New issuance of agency single-family MBS jumped 25 percent from December to January, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. The most likely explanation for the sudden jump in agency MBS issuance may be that new, more seller-friendly repurchase policies at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went into effect for loans sold after Jan. 1, 2013. The revamped policies generally provide that the government-sponsored enterprises will not seek repurchase or indemnification for loans that perform for the first three years after origination. In the case of Home Affordable Refinance Program loans, repurchases will be waived...[Includes one data chart]

A deeply divided House Financial Services Committee took on FHA solvency this week as critics and defenders clashed over the agency’s practices, financial health and future role in the nation’s housing market. The distinctly partisan tone of the hearing quickly raised doubt as to whether the Republican majority and their Democratic opponents can come to some compromise to strengthen the FHA and reduce its risk to taxpayers. Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, echoed complaints by Republican colleagues that the FHA is ...

An announced 10 basis-point hike in the FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP) may bolster the health of the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund and speed up shrinkage of FHA market share, but it will also make FHA-insured loans costlier for borrowers. The increase is the latest in a series of premium hikes imposed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the past three years to strengthen the MMI Fund’s capital reserves, which lately have fallen to a negative position. Simultaneously, HUD announced other measures to ... [1 chart]

The FHA this week has proposed to set a 95 percent maximum loan-to-value ratio for FHA-insured loans over $625,500, effectively raising the minimum downpayment for jumbo loans from 3.5 percent to 5 percent. In a Feb. 6 Federal Register notice, the FHA said the proposed change is aimed at improving the health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, whose statutory capital reserve ratio has fallen to a precarious level, raising the specter of a taxpayer bailout. Despite steps taken since 2009 to strengthen the MMIF, actuarial reviews of the fund have projected rising levels ...

Although unhappy about the demise of the popular, fixed-rate, standard Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, loan officers are not worried about any long-term adverse effect on their FHA businesses. In fact, members of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, support the FHA’s decision, which is a part of a broad effort to strengthen and better manage the risk of the agency’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. They said they have other HECM products to offer in lieu of the standard HECM loan. Beginning April 1, borrowers who choose a fixed interest rate will be limited to ...

FHA-approved lenders that engage in aggressive marketing to borrowers with a history of foreclosure, particularly advertisements about the ease of obtaining an FHA-insured mortgage after foreclosure, could face potential sanctions and severe penalties, the FHA warned. In a letter to lenders, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said there has been a proliferation of web-based and print ads conveying the message that almost any borrower can get a new FHA loan three years after ...

The FHA will begin monitoring state housing finance agencies (HFAs) to ensure that the cash assistance they provide borrowers for closing costs, downpayment or rehabilitation costs are not coming from illegal sources. FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said there have been concerns about whether some HFA homeownership program funding models are in compliance with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s current interpretive rule clarifying its prohibition on seller-funded downpayment assistance. Published in the Federal Register, the interpretive rule clarified that ...

A recent revision to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General Audit Guide has lifted a reporting burden for FHA investing mortgagees who are involved in servicing, according to Phillip Schulman, a top compliance expert and a partner at K&L Gates. Under the revised guide, an investing mortgagee or lender that purchases, sells or holds FHA-insured mortgages but cannot originate or fund FHA loans no longer needs to submit reports on internal controls and compliance, Schulman reported in a client alert. The new rule states that investing mortgagees are now required to ...

Responding to industry concerns over the impact of the new loan officer compensation final rule on reverse mortgages, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has clarified the phrase “amount of credit extended” for closed-end Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans. For closed-end reverse mortgages, a loan originator’s compensation may be based on either (a) the maximum proceeds available to the consumer under the loan; (b) the maximum claim amount (if the loan is subject to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HECM rules); or (c) the appraised value of the property, as determined by ...

A federal appeals court has rebuffed the bid by American International Group’s mortgage insurance unit to overturn a lower court’s order to pay more than $45 million to SunTrust Banks for insured losses related to mortgage defaults. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a Virginia federal judge’s ruling that AIG’s United Guaranty breached an insurance agreement by refusing to pay claims on 1,305 defaulted “combo” loans – which is a first-lien loan with a smaller, second-lien “piggyback” loan. At issue were mortgage defaults that SunTrust claimed should have been covered under a ...