Ginnie Mae’s latest guidance raising the minimum servicing spread will have little impact because most servicers already retain well above the minimum requirement, according to analysts with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

FHA jumbo lenders ended 2018 on a sour note with total originations during the fourth quarter declining 9.7% on a sequential basis and a whopping 30.9% from a year ago. Purchase loans accounted for 74.3% of the FHA jumbo market last year. [Includes one data chart.]

FHA has tweaked its mortgage scorecard to address concerns surrounding loans with higher-risk characteristics such as cash-out refinances and high debt-to-income ratios.

Ginnie Mae issuers produced just $22.84 billion of new mortgage-backed securities in February, the lowest monthly total in nearly five years, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis. [Includes two data charts.]

A roundup of stories covering the government mortgage sector.

Lenders will no longer be able to edit appraisals in FHA’s Electronic Appraisal Delivery portal. They will have to submit a corrected appraisal to update the field.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has urged policymakers to strengthen the ability of Ginnie Mae to supervise independent mortgage bankers.

Concerned with the increasing number of nonbank lenders in the mortgage market and tight liquidity conditions, Ginnie Mae has started developing stress tests for its largest issuers.

Lawmakers and mortgage market players are watching whether the Trump administration will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a circuit court decision extending medical and disability benefits to war veterans who fell ill due to exposure to Agent Orange while serving in the territorial waters of Vietnam.

Ginnie Mae will not be able to conform its pooling requirements to the VA interim final rule on cash-out refinancing because doing so would be contrary to the provisions of the Dodd-Frank reform act, the agency noted.