Loan standards are not loosening on conventional mortgages, but in the jumbo space the story is entirely different.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is doing a poor job of overseeing FHA lenders, according to the agency’s Office of the Inspector General, which has found high error rates in ongoing reviews of underwriting. FHA continues to struggle with poorly underwritten mortgages, according to testimony by HUD Inspector General David Montoya in a hearing this week before the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In light of “the apparent systemic problems with the underwriting of FHA insured loans” and successful pursuit of civil enforcement against violators, the HUD IG joined with the Department of Justice and HUD’s Office of General Counsel in early 2012 to focus on the underwriting practices of 10 of the largest FHA-approved lenders. “To date, the underwriting of thousands of FHA insured...

A number of lenders in July stopped offering mortgages with characteristics outside of those allowed for qualified mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA said credit availability declined in August after four months of loosening. “The slight decline in the Mortgage Credit Availability Index in August reflected a reduction in the availability of certain loan features, particularly interest-only and terms exceeding 30 years,” said Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “As these loan features are outside of the QM definition, these changes may reflect the beginning of QM implementation, and the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are limited to acquiring loans that meet the QM definition.” The MCAI is...

Stonegate Mortgage plans to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last week. Meanwhile, stock prices for other mortgage-related companies that priced IPOs this year have declined. Stonegate is unique among mortgage company IPOs this year in that it’s not a real estate investment trust. Three of the four mortgage-related IPOs that have priced in 2013 have been for REITs and the other was a nonbank affiliated with a REIT. Stonegate was founded...

Maxine Waters is working on a GSE reform bill that likely will garner strong industry support, unlike Rep. Hensarling's PATH Act.

The city council’s favorable vote represents a rare notch in the win column for MRP, which has suffered numerous defeats in local jurisdictions across the nation, likely at a substantial loss to the firm’s financial backers.

It's been five long years since Uncle Sam seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Is time to give them back to shareholders?

Not only is Stonegate Mortgage going public, but it plans to issue jumbo MBS as well.

The program is intended to provide smaller mortgage lenders that lack direct access to the secondary mortgage market with another option for their home buying customers.

Over the years, HUD has seen a steady decline in its staffing level – perhaps to its lowest level ever, in fact – while at the same time being called upon to administer an increasing number of programs.