The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week announced several measures to expand underserved borrowers’ access to credit and to protect the FHA insurance fund, including a new pilot that would qualify borrowers for reduced mortgage insurance premiums through counseling. In remarks to the National Association of Realtors’ Regulatory Forum, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan unveiled a new “Blueprint for Access,” which echoes plans outlined in the Obama administration’s 2015 budget proposal. Donovan said...

When the Federal Housing Finance Agency unveiled its long-awaited strategic plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week, it provided scant guidance on pending eligibility standards for mortgage insurance firms that rely on the government-sponsored enterprises. But the good news for the MI sector is that there was a mention of the topic and a vague promise that eligibility standards – including capital-to-risk rules – will see the light of day this year. Although the agency did not offer a specific timetable, MI executives told Inside Mortgage Finance that they expect to see the standards early in the second half. “FHFA hasn’t dropped...

One Stonegate Mortgage watcher we know called the company an “absolute no-brainer short,” noting that when the lender went public “it was overvalued."

Recently, House appropriators approved the FY 2015 budget for HUD but without an allocation for the HAWK pilot program. Still, FHA is hopeful...

In case you didn’t notice, the price of Fannie and Freddie common rose about 5 percent Tuesday, after Watt spoke. In trading Wednesday, they were up again...

In a report released Wednesday morning, the servicing settlement monitor said Green Tree failed eight metrics tested in the second half of 2013.

Richard Smith, chief marketing officer for Ditech, said the mortgages that the company originates will close in Ditech’s name, not in the name of Green Tree.

If the CFPB is able to turn an enforcement action into a settlement, it’s far less likely to be challenged in court, the professor said.

The disclosure regime envisioned by the SEC prompts even greater privacy concerns than the initial proposal, according to a number of non-agency MBS issuers.

“This decision is motivated by concerns about how such a reduction could adversely impact the health of the current housing finance market,” said FHFA Director Mel Watt.