The Mortgage Bankers Association expressed support for a proposed collection of a system user fee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s single-family housing guaranteed loan program while underscoring the need for transparency and accountability regarding the use of the funds. “The [USDA] should be clear that it is limited in the scope of acceptable uses for the funds and that these funds will not be used for unspecified or unrelated activities,” the trade group said in its comment letter. The call for closer oversight of the proposed user-fees was among several recommendations the MBA made regarding the USDA proposal. Published in the July 13 Federal Register, the proposal would authorize the USDA to assess and collect a $25 fee from lenders for information technology upgrades. The fee will be collected through the USDA’s Lender Loan Closing (LLC) system when a loan goes to ...

Loss rates for notes sold in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s distressed asset sales program are lower than those for notes that pass through the traditional conveyance claim process, according to HUD’s inspector general. An IG audit found that the DASP loss rate was more than 3 percentage points lower than the loss rate of similar conveyance notes. The IG took into account the losses for actual DASP sales and real estate-owned conveyance claims during the same audit period, the IG said. Ultimately, the DASP program saved the FHA insurance fund more money than the conveyance process, the report concluded. The FHA Office of Housing conducts mortgage loan sales under the Single Family Loan Sale Initiative, and most distressed notes are sold through DASP. The initiative aims to maximize recoveries to the ...

Mortgage fraud is a growing problem, especially income misrepresentation, according to a recent CoreLogic report. All loan segments showed increased risks, except for the jumbo loan segment, which actually witnessed a decline in application fraud.

Five regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, recently clarified that supervisory guidance is not regulation and won’t be the sole basis for enforcement actions. Industry attorneys said the statement would benefit the mortgage industry overall, but lenders still need more guidance to help with tricky compliance issues.

First Alliance issued a statement calling the license idea a “desperate revenue grabbing” practice.

The agency specifies that a two-year testing period would be the norm.

On Nov. 1, Fannie Mae will begin accepting applications for its new high loan-to-value ratio refinance product.

Two new members of the consumer panel come from the fintech world: Sameh Elamawy, CEO of Scratch, and Manning Field, CEO of Acorns.

The IG says four officials in the FHFA’s Division of Conservatorship told investigators that Fannie did not face an “action forcing” event…

In late July, Director Watt issued a statement saying he had not “done anything contrary to law.”