The Federal Home Loan Bank System is seeking to boost its share of government-backed lending and the Ginnie Mae market with a new servicing-release option for FHA, VA and rural housing mortgages that are sold into the Mortgage Partnership Finance program. The new feature adds to an existing servicing-retained execution in the MPF Government Mortgage-Backed Securities program. The current servicing-retained component requires participating lenders to service loans they originate and sell into the MPF conduit. The servicing-release option from Nationstar Mortgage, a top-10 mortgage servicer based in Dallas, will provide lenders with greater pricing flexibility so they can become more competitive in the communities they serve, said Matt Feldman, president of the Chicago FHLB. Only FHLBank members that are participants in MPF can use the government MBS program. In order to ...

Nationstar Mortgage is looking to enhance its FHA and VA lending and increase the recapture rate for the two loan products, according to the company’s top executives. In its third-quarter earnings call, Nationstar CEO Jay Bray told analysts the company has initiated targeted marketing efforts for refinancing opportunities for FHA and VA borrowers. In the third quarter, Nationstar’s overall origination segment increased funding to nearly $5 billion and raised its recapture to 28 percent. The company has reported profitability for five consecutive quarters and posted $50 million in earnings. Servicing profitability improved for the third quarter to 3.6 basis points, a 57 percent improvement from the prior quarter. In addition, the company generated strong cash flows of $172 million during the period. Ranked 17th among the top FHA lenders in the third quarter, Nationstar originated ...

FHA to Unveil FY 2015 MMIF Audit Results. On Nov. 16, the FHA will release its 2015 annual report to Congress, a document that historically has included the results of the annual actuarial audit of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, or MMIF. Early in the day, Ed Golding, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Housing, is scheduled to brief reporters on the report and take questions. As reported by Inside FHA/VA Lending, the reduction in the annual mortgage insurance premium earlier this year has put the MMIF on an accelerated path to recovery. But whether the ensuing increase in FHA production – which translates into additional premiums – will be enough to get the fund back to its statutory 2 percent capital reserve ratio remains ...

The FHA has issued temporary guidelines to ease the condominium approval process and increase the number of condo projects eligible for FHA financing. The guidelines take effect immediately and will be in place for one year to give FHA enough time to write and implement a more comprehensive rule. With the issuance of the guidelines, FHA anticipates an increase in the pool of FHA-eligible condo projects, which in turn will provide more affordable housing options for first-time and low- to moderate-income borrowers. The interim guidelines modify three key areas where lender complaints have been common. First, the guidelines revise requirements for recertification of condo projects. FHA-approved condo projects require recertification after two years to ensure that the project is still in ...

The private mortgage insurance industry did more business during the third quarter than it has in any period since the housing market came unglued in early 2008 and rolled to another solid round of financial results, according to an Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. But early indicators suggest the FHA and VA government insurance programs continue to provide stiff competition in the primary MI market. While neither government agency has released new business data for the third quarter, trends in the Ginnie Mae program suggest that the private MI share of new primary coverage drifted down to 33.8 percent in the third quarter, the lowest it’s been since the beginning of 2013. Mike Zimmerman, senior VP for investor relations at Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., said...[Includes three data tables]

New agency issuance of single-family MBS declined in October as a result of a slowdown in the purchase-mortgage market, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issued a total of $107.19 billion of single-family MBS last month, a 5.6 percent slip from September’s volume. The flow of purchase mortgages securitized by the three agencies was down 9.6 percent for the month, while refinance volume was up 2.6 percent in October. Some of the strength in refi activity is...[Includes two data tables]

The overall delinquency rates for VA and FHA mortgage loans rose in the third quarter of 2015 due to increases in both 30-60 and 60-90 day delinquencies, according to agency data. Approximately 96.5 percent of VA loans in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities remained current in the third quarter, down slightly from the second quarter, suggesting more borrowers have become past due during the period. VA 30-day and 60-day delinquencies rose to 2.44 percent and 0.23 percent, respectively, while the percentage of VA loans 90 days or more past due fell to 0.84 percent. The remaining principal balance of securitized VA loans was $426.8 billion, up 5.1 percent from the prior quarter. Meanwhile, the share of FHA loans in Ginnie Mae pools that were current dropped to 93.8 percent in the third quarter from 94.2 percent in the prior quarter. FHA 30-day delinquencies increased to ... [ 1 chart ]

Servicing of FHA loans pooled into Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities rose 2.1 percent in the third quarter of 2015. Three megabanks in the top five-servicer tier accounted for a significant share of the market. Ginnie Mae servicers of FHA collateral reported $969.0 billion outstanding at Sept. 30, with Wells Fargo accounting for 27.9 percent of total servicing volume. Wells Fargo, Chase Home Finance (#2) and Bank of America (#5) combined to service 39.3 percent of FHA outstanding as of the end of the quarter. PennyMac Corp. closed the quarter with a $57.7 billion FHA servicing portfolio, good enough for third place and 6.0 percent of the market. Fourth-ranked NationStar Mortgage reported a $53.6 billion servicing portfolio at the end of the ... [ 1 chart ]

Community lenders renewed their call for a further cut in FHA mortgage insurance premiums amid speculation that a healthier FHA insurance fund could lead to another reduction. But analysts are less optimistic about another premium reduction for different reasons. In a letter to FHA Acting Commissioner Edward Golding, the Community Home Lenders Association asked that the annual MIP be reduced to the pre-crisis level of 0.55 percent when FHA’s capital reserve ratio returns to the statutory 2.0 percent level. The call comes less than a month before FHA issues its highly anticipated annual actuarial report on the state of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. There is speculation within the mortgage industry that the FY 2015 report will show improved FHA fundamentals, bringing the fund closer or over its statutory 2.0 percent capital reserve ratio. The report is expected to highlight the positive results of a ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the FHA have issued guidelines concerning the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule as it relates to VA- and FHA-backed mortgages. The new TRID rule covers loan applications received on or after Oct. 3, 2015. It replaced Truth-in-Lending-Act disclosures and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s closing (HUD-1) settlement statement. The rule requires that all covered loans be closed using the new closing disclosure. The VA has announced new closing-disclosure guidelines and a new mandatory method for the stacking order of loan files selected for full-loan review. According to the VA, all files selected for full review on or after Oct. 3 may include the HUD-1 statement. The agency is aware that loans will be requested that have the HUD-1 closing document, and that it will perform the full file review with the ...