Private mortgage insurers appear to be holding on to the gains in market share they began to accumulate in the middle of last year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. An estimated $108.61 billion of home mortgages originated in the first quarter of this year carried primary mortgage insurance, an increase of 9.4 percent from the previous quarter. That compared to a 3.8 percent drop in total single-family mortgage originations over that period. The apparent jump in primary MI market penetration to 28.2 percent is skewed somewhat by the process for...(Includes two data charts)

New issuance of agency MBS declined sharply in April as refinance activity in the primary market began to slow down despite concerted efforts by many lenders to ramp up Home Affordable Refinance Program business. A new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking reveals that a total of $109.2 billion of single-family agency MBS was issued last month, down 29.2 percent from March. It was the lowest monthly output since October of last year, when the refi market started to gather momentum. The decline was all attributable to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which pick up more refinance...(Includes one data chart)

In an effort to aggressively expand the recently retooled Home Affordable Refinance Program, Fannie Mae is encouraging lenders to make the most of HARP 2.0’s looser rules on marketing directly to eligible borrowers. The government-sponsored enterprise created “outreach materials” to help jump-start lenders’ marketing efforts to would-be borrowers who aren’t aware they may qualify for a HARP refinance. “Fannie Mae developed these model ‘HARP Materials’ to facilitate borrower consideration of HARP refinancing options that may be available through participating lenders and servicers...

Mortgage lenders that were less than enthusiastic about the first version of the refinance program for underwater Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers now see the revised initiative as a significant opportunity for 2012 and beyond. A recent Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers revealed that 39 percent of large banks have begun actively soliciting Home Affordable Refinance Program business, although participation rates are lower among smaller institutions. Officials from M&T Bank and SunTrust Mortgage said during a recent webinar sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance Publications that they...

Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have begun buying the latest generation of Home Affordable Refinance Program mortgages with loan-to-value ratios exceeding 125 percent, a number of lenders are holding these loans in the pipeline until the government-sponsored enterprises open the spigot on securitization options for these loans. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie and Freddie purchased 1,548 of the high LTV HARP loans in February. FHFA Senior Associate Director Meg Burns said during an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar this week that a similar volume of 125+ LTV loans were...

Increases in mortgage insurance premiums and adjustments to loan programs will likely make FHA-insured mortgage loans more costly and difficult to obtain for future FHA borrowers, according to industry participants. Lenders estimate that about 40 percent of home purchases and even a larger share of first-time homebuyer purchases are insured by the FHA. They say the premium changes could have a detrimental impact on homebuyers in 2012. The FHA has increased its premiums in order to shore up its books in light of high delinquency and foreclosure rates and to strengthen its depleted capital reserves, which have ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said it would review and update as necessary its requirements for servicers of FHA-insured loans in conjunction with the establishment of new standards by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. HUD wants to ensure coordination between the FHA and CFPB standards and that each set of standards provides effective solutions for borrowers, said an FHA spokesman. On April 9, the CFPB previewed some of the mortgage servicing rules, which the agency plans to propose this summer and adopt in January 2013. It is unclear whether ...

Implementing proposed legislation aimed at improving the safety and soundness of the FHA single-family program would cost taxpayers $11 million over a four-year period if the bill is enacted in late 2012 and the necessary amounts are appropriated each year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In an analysis of H.R. 4264, the FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012, the CBO estimated that $9 million would be spent on mandatory actuarial studies on the health of the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund and $2 million for other costs over the 2013-2017 period. The legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues and, therefore ...

There is nothing in the FHA guidelines that would make a loan ineligible for FHA insurance if the property were located near high-voltage power lines, according to an agency official. Testifying during a recent congressional field hearing, Bobbi Borland, acting branch chief of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Santa Ana Homeownership Center, said FHA-insured mortgages are based on the property’s appraised value at the time of origination, as determined by an FHA-approved appraiser. “There is simply no easy way to identify whether ...

Ally Financial has announced a plan to reduce its purchases of government-backed loans from brokers and correspondents and shift its government financing activity to retail and direct channels. The lender informed its partners of its plan to reduce its FHA and VA operations in the correspondent and wholesale broker channels effective April 16. However, Ally will continue its correspondent relationships with key customers. In 2011, like most lenders, Ally focused on the agency market, with conventional conforming mortgage loans comprising ...