Cart

Inside Mortgage Finance

April 9, 2009

View Archived Issues

FHA Boom Increases Risk Exposure, Officials Unveil Plans to Beef Up Fraud Monitoring Efforts

FHA officials plan to crack down hard on fraudulent activities in the venerable mortgage insurance program that saw dramatic gains in business volume in 2008. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan told a Senate appropriations subcommittee that he plans to use much of the $13 billion boost in HUD funding in the 2009 budget for... [Includes one graph] Read More

Early 2009 Data Show Little Improvement in Loan Performance, More Doubt About Loan Mods

Mortgage servicing data from a number of sources point toward further increases in serious delinquency rates in early 2009 and mixed results from the industry’s intensifying efforts to help out distressed borrowers. The overall delinquency rate – excluding loans in foreclosure – edged slightly lower to 8.37 percent in February, according to Lender Processing Services, which says over half... Read More

Administration’s Foreclosure Relief Plan has Many Plusses, But Minuses Could Make Implementation Very Difficult

Despite its many positive aspects, the Obama administration’s recent foreclosure relief initiative has a significant downside that could make it difficult to implement, especially for lenders that have not previously used a net present value model to determine whether a loan should be modified, according to a top executive of Bank of America. Like many lenders, BofA is still... Read More

Industry Heavyweights Rely Largely on Correspondent Business to Bolster Dominance in Mortgage Production

The ranking of the top direct mortgage originators looks a lot like the list of the top overall mortgage producers, except the top tier of lenders accounts for a relatively smaller share of the market.Wells Fargo ranked as the top direct originator – a measure that includes retail originations and broker loans – with a 10.4 percent share of total production in... [Includes two charts] Read More

Despite OTTI Progress, Industry United in Concern That FASB Regressed on Valuation of Assets

Mortgage industry groups say new guidance on fair value accounting approved last week is at best a mixed blessing that may help some companies shore up their regulatory capital but provides little new elbow room in declaring values in illiquid markets. The Financial Accounting Standards Board moved with uncommon speed to ease its requirements on reporting other-than-temporary impairment... Read More

Obama Administration Takes Tougher Stance on Loan Modification Fraud

Government officials are trying to stamp out malicious loan workout specialists who often make things worse for already distressed homeowners and generally make no positive contribution to helping borrowers resolve their difficulties. The Obama administration’s loan modification is expected to help as many as 4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure by lowering their loan payments to no... Read More

GSEs May Loosen HVCC to Allow Brokers To Contact AMCs to Request Appraisals

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may loosen a provision in the revised Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which is set to take effect May 1, to allow mortgage brokers and loan officers to order appraisals through lenders’ appraisal management companies. In a related development, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers late last week withdrew its lawsuit against the Federal Housing Finance... Read More

Passage of H.R. 1728, Financial Regulation Modernization Will be Congress’ Focus in the Next Couple of Weeks

Passage of H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009, and modernization of financial services regulation will be Congress’ top priority in the next couple of weeks as lawmakers turn their attention to consumer protections, according to legislative aides. Discussing the legislative outlook for the mortgage industry at this week’s annual conference of... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results