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Inside Mortgage Finance

May 14, 2009

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Private MIs Still Paddling Upstream in Early 2009 As FHA Continues to Dominate Insured Market

Private mortgage insurers posted another round of huge losses during the first quarter of 2009, as rising defaults and claims swamped industry efforts to seek less risky business and aggressively pursue loss mitigation strategies. According to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis, the six private MIs still writing new business posted an... [Includes four charts] Read More

HUD Sticks by 2008 RESPA Regulation But Agrees to Go Back to the Drawing Board on ‘Required Use’ Provisions

The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week announced that it will withdraw the new definition of “required use” from its recent Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rule, but the agency resisted calls to withdraw the new regulation completely in favor of a joint project with the Federal Reserve. The “required use” provisions in the RESPA regulation developed... Read More

Obama Administration Just Beginning to Outline Regulatory Goals, Some Projects May Never Happen

The Obama administration inherited an ambitious slate of rulemaking projects, especially efforts linked to last year’s reform of the government-sponsored enterprises, but most federal agencies have not yet laid out their regulatory priorities for the new administration.Although the Department of Housing and Urban Development has committed to revising one aspect of the controversial... Read More

GSEs Boost Bad Loan Buyouts from MBS Pools As Credit Expenses Skyrocket to $33 Billion

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sharply increased the volume of mortgages they repurchased from mortgage securities pools during the first quarter of 2009, as loss mitigation efforts intensified in a still weakening housing market. Fannie Mae repurchased some $2.56 billion of loans from its guaranteed mortgage-backed securities during the first three months of this year, more than... Read More

Mortgage Reform Not the Senate Banking Panel’s Immediate Legislative Priority, Says Chairman Dodd

The House of Representatives’ effort to craft strong mortgage reform and consumer protection legislation may be for naught if the Senate fails to take up similar legislation. Reports this week indicated that the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee is unlikely to consider any new anti-predatory lending legislation given its current priorities. Committee... Read More

2010 Budget Seeks FHA Funding Boost, HECM Will Need $798 Million Subsidy

The Obama administration is asking Congress for a substantial increase in budget authority to boost technology systems and anti-fraud efforts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, aimed largely at updating the FHA mortgage insurance program. HUD is seeking $37 million in fiscal 2010 to launch a new Combating Abusive and Fraudulent Mortgage Practices Initiative... Read More

Housing Counseling Can Help Avert Foreclosures, But Funding is Thin

The number of desperate borrowers seeking loan modifications has dramatically risen over the past year, leading to a subsequent need for improved counseling mechanisms to explain the possible solutions to homeowners looking to stay afloat. But are the counseling intermediaries currently in place equipped well enough to deal with the rise in possible foreclosures? Susan Keating, president and... Read More

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