The FHA has revised the order of loss-mitigation options for FHA borrowers whose properties or jobs are located in hurricane-ravaged areas in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Under the revised policy, FHA is allowing lenders to evaluate borrowers in the affected areas first for the “disaster stand-alone partial claim” before the disaster loan modification. The agency believes this change will enable more affected borrowers to get into a permanent loss-mitigation solution and keep their mortgage in good standing. The policy specifically allows borrowers to maintain their pre-disaster monthly principal and interest payment and retain their current interest rate and term of the FHA-insured mortgage. In addition, the policy provides for the repayment of arrearages with a subordinate mortgage lien that is not repaid until the maturity of the FHA loan, the sale of the property, or the payoff of the loan, or non-FHA refinancing ...

Ocwen Financial Corporation is no longer in danger of losing its Ginnie Mae issuer status after the agency earlier this month officially announced its concerns over the specialty servicer’s problems with state regulators are resolved. Ocwen, a publicly traded Florida corporation, disclosed in a new filing that, based on information it provided to Ginnie Mae regarding the resolution of state cease-and-desist orders issued by a coalition of state banking regulators, the agency considers the issue to be concluded. In April last year, 30 state mortgage regulators issued cease-and-desist orders to prevent Ocwen from servicing loans within their jurisdictions. The servicer was accused of substandard loan servicing that violated state and applicable federal laws The orders generally prohibited Ocwen from acquiring new mortgage servicing rights, originating or acquiring new mortgage loans for which Ocwen would be the ...

An undetermined defect is causing the Department of Veterans Affairs’ loan servicing reporting system to spit out duplicate bill-of-collection transaction numbers. The VA Home Loan Guaranty staff is collaborating with the Administrative Loan and Accounting Center (ALAC) to work around the issue. The resolution to correct the defect in the VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) application is scheduled to be included in the 18.4 VALERI release on Dec. 8, 2018. VALERI is in the first phase of a three-year project to convert from a system for reporting and storing servicing data to an end-to-end mortgage-processing platform. The VA also has issued a number of servicing alerts and reminders. Liquidation appraisal fees in Colorado will increase in certain counties effective Sept. 1, 2018, so that all counties will have the same fee per property type. The fee changes will be updated and reflected on the ...

Michael Bright Clears First Hurdle to Becoming President of GNMA. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs this week voted to confirm Michael Bright as president of Ginnie Mae. Bright’s confirmation is broadly positive for housing, said Jaret Seiberg, financial services and housing policy analyst for Cowen Washington Research Group. Bright is a former staffer for Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, and has a history of working well with Republicans and Democrats, said Seiberg. In addition, he has worked closely with Sen. Elizabeth Warren in cracking down on loan churning, he added. The Mortgage Bankers Association welcomed the news. “Mr. Bright would bring significant experience within the mortgage industry and on Capitol Hill to the role of Ginnie Mae president,” said Bill Kilmer, the group’s chief lobbyist. “He has demonstrated a commitment to bipartisan solutions regarding complex ...

The securitization and mortgage banking industries heaved a collective sigh of relief after aMaryland appeals court ruled earlier this month that state licensing requirements do not apply to “foreign” statutory trusts.

The Internal Revenue Service published a proposed rule this month to help determine who’s eligible for a new 20.0 percent tax deduction for pass-through entities. Lenders that retain their production in portfolio look to be eligible for the deduction but there’s uncertainty about businesses that originate and sell loans.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Thursday morning approved the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to become chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Thursday morning approved Kathy Kraninger’s nomination to become the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a party-line 13-12 vote. The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will have to assign floor time to advance the CFPB nomination...

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors recently announced that all states and U.S. territories now use a single, common exam to assess mortgage loan originators...

yyang@imfpubs.com Mortgage Bankers Association is concerned that many lenders won’t be eligible for a new 20 percent tax deduction for pass-through entities. Lenders that retain their production in portfolio look to be eligible for the deduction, but there is uncertainty around businesses that originate and sell loans. In a letter to the Internal Revenue Service, the MBA argued companies that finance real estate loans should be able to claim the deduction. See this Friday’s edition of…