The Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating Bank of America's compliance with the requirements of the FHA's Lender Direct Endorsement program. BofA disclosed the investigation in its recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission but withheld details. Department of Justice investigations of FHA-related fraud are based typically upon an alleged violation of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) and/or the False Claims Act (FCA). Civil monetary penalties under FIRREA could go as high as $1.1 million per violation while treble damages are potentially available for FCA claims. Both laws have a 10-year statute of limitation. As a direct endorsement lender, BofA is authorized to originate, underwrite and certify loans for mortgage insurance without further reviews by the FHA or the Department of Housing and Urban Development. If the loan defaults, the holder of the loan may ...

Ginnie Mae has expressed concern about a new FHA policy accepting electronic signatures on most mortgage documents and will seek input and feedback from issuers. In a memo to participants this week, the agency said electronic documents "present unique challenges to implementation." In a Jan. 30 mortgagee letter, the FHA announced that it would begin accepting electronic signatures on most loan docs, including loan disclosures and loan servicing/loss mitigation documents. The FHA said it will accept electronic signatures only on "authorized" docs but delayed their use on notes until Dec. 31, 2014. This delay reflects considerations that are necessary in connection with electronic notes (eNote) and electronic mortgages (eMortgages), said Ginnie Mae. An electronic signature is a signature that is applied or affixed to a document by electronic means. Scanned images of paper docs that bear a physical or "wet" signature are not ...

Community-based mortgage lenders have asked the Obama administration to include a provision in the FY 2015 budget lowering FHA annual premiums to allow the agency to fully meet its mission of providing affordable mortgage credit while shoring up the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. In a recent letter to the Office of Management and the Budget, the Community Home Lenders Association called for a reduction in the annual FHA premium on purchase loans from the current 1.35 percent to 0.75 percent. The CHLA further recommended a 0.5 percent reduction of the annual premium for all borrowers when the FHA reaches its 2.0 percent net worth standard. At the same time, the CHLA also recommended lowering down to 0.5 percent the premium paid by homeowners who have completed HUD-sanctioned pre-purchase homeownership counseling. The group also called for an increase in the upfront FHA premium to as high as ...

Despite continued calls by supporters, the Obama administration remains uninterested in expanding the Home Affordable Refinance Program administratively while existing HARP 3.0 legislation remains hopelessly stalled. Last week during a public appearance, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan made it clear that HUD will not push for an expansion of HARP.

Private mortgage insurers provided primary coverage on $41.59 billion of mortgages originated during the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. While that was down 29.6 percent from the third quarter, it also represented the deepest private MI penetration of new originations in five years. Private MI coverage – including existing insurance transferred to new loans originated under the Home Affordable Refinance Program – accounted for 13.6 percent of new mortgages produced in the fourth quarter. That was the highest private MI share of new originations since the first quarter of 2008, when it was 14.7 percent. HARP continued...[Includes three data charts]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw dramatic declines in the number of underwater mortgage refinances they acquired in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. Mortgage lenders delivered an estimated 103,878 Home Affordable Refinance Program loans to the two government-sponsored enterprises in the fourth quarter, down 49.0 percent from the previous period. Our estimate, based on loan-level MBS data, supplement Federal Housing Finance Agency figures that have been updated only through November. The final three months of last year produced...[Includes one data chart]

FHA-approved lenders should make sure they leave no stones unturned to ensure that loans submitted for endorsement meet FHA’s strict underwriting criteria. It is the responsibility of direct endorsement lenders to scrutinize every loan for compliance with FHA lending guidelines, including income verification, credit analysis and property appraisals. JPMorgan Chase admitted it failed to do all of the above. Last week, the bank acknowledged it violated the False Claims Act and agreed to pay $614 million in cash to settle government charges it improperly certified poorly underwritten loans for FHA and VA guarantees. The defective loans later ...

The whistleblower whose investigative efforts led to the landmark $25 billion national mortgage settlement between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general and five of the largest mortgage servicers is at it again. This time, Lynn Szymoniak is suing 22 companies for using fraud to obtain FHA insurance – in some instances, VA guaranties – for defective loans that later were securitized through Ginnie Mae and sold to investors. Szymoniak, who is suing under the False Claims Act, gained notoriety from a 2011 interview on “60 Minutes” in which she ...

Buoyed by improvement in FHA loan quality, some lenders have begun lowering the credit score requirements for FHA and other government-backed mortgages. Last month, Wells Fargo alerted FHA lenders of its decision to lower the minimum credit score for purchase home loans through its retail channel from 640 to 600. “We felt it was an appropriate time to do it given the improvement in FHA loan quality,” a spokesman explained. “The change applies to all FHA borrowers. Last year’s resolution of the FHA indemnification issue also prompted the change at Wells Fargo, according to a bank official. In addition, resolving the putback risk with ...

NRMLA Plans to Recruit Certain Borrowers to Offer HECM Testimonials. Seeing so much negative publicity against reverse mortgages, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association is planning to recruit borrowers who are willing to share with reporters their positive experiences with the product. The aim is to build a “repository” of borrowers who are willing to be interviewed by reporters on the merits of having a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan. Media representatives typically contact the NRMLA for borrower interviews, and having a borrower contact list would ...