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Inside Mortgage Finance

October 1, 2009

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As GSE HARP Efforts Shift to Higher Gear, Business Volume Remains Relatively Subdued

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week completed implementation of the expanded refinance program for underwater borrowers, but the depth of the housing funk of recent years may limit how much business the two government-sponsored enterprises are able to do. The two GSEs completed about 93,070 refinances under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Refinance... [Includes one graph] Read More

Fed Cuts FHA Lenders Some Slack on Prepay Issue As Sweeping New TILA Rule Takes Effect This Week

The Federal Reserve this week gave an 11th-hour reprieve to lenders concerned about getting caught in a compliance trap between age-old FHA requirements and the new era in rate-based consumer protection rules under the Truth in Lending Act. Major portions of the Fed’s revamped Regulation Z took effect Oct 1, including its significant expansion of the range of... Read More

FHA Adjusts Acceptable Loan Mods to Combat Increasing Re-Defaults, Expand HAMP Use

The FHA will now only pay loss mitigation claims and incentives for loan modifications that reduce a borrower’s payment down to the current market rate, a move the agency said will ensure that mods help borrowers by actually lowering their payments. The change will affect how servicers modify FHA loans under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program... Read More

Fannie Provides Some Aid to the MI Industry With a Minimum Mortgage Insurance Option

Fannie Mae is trying to help the private mortgage insurance industry stretch its remaining capital a little further by scaling back coverage requirements and effectively offsetting the risk by charging additional loan-level pricing adjustments. “A minimum MI option is intended to support market liquidity by helping the MI industry preserve capital and potentially create more... Read More

Industry Unmoved by Frank’s CFPA Concessions, Profound Differences Could Stall Bill Further

Despite proposed changes floated by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank last week, industry opposition to the Obama administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Agency draft bill remains strong. Consumer groups, on the other hand, reiterated their support and called for stronger consumer protection.Financial services trade groups still say they want enhanced... Read More

HMDA Data Show Huge Decline in 2008 Mortgage Activity – Except at Government-Insured Programs

Mortgage lenders saw huge declines in mortgage applications and new originations in 2008, although they became a lot more selective in approving home finance credit, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data released this week. A total of $1.322 trillion of home mortgages were originated during 2008, according to the... [Includes one chart] Read More

Foreclosure Mediation Programs Aren’t Meeting Their Potential to Help Borrowers, Study Says

A lack of industry accountability is hamstringing the potential of state and local foreclosure mediation programs to help struggling borrowers hold onto their homes, mirroring the modest effectiveness of voluntary mortgage modification programs instituted on a national level, according to a new study from the National Consumer Law Center. “Our review raised concerns about the kind of... Read More

Mod Pace May Be Slowing

Early indicators suggest that the pace of loan modifications may have actually slowed during the third quarter, despite a massive effort to ramp up the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program. Hope Now, an industry group representing a number of large mortgage servicers, reported an increase in loan modification from July to August... Read More

Civil Rights Commissioners in a Row Over Report Investigating Effect of Mortgage Crisis on Civil Rights

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights finds itself divided over a recent report on the impact of the mortgage crisis on civil rights, as two of its eight commissioners refused to approve research that “failed to meet the [commission’s] high standards.” In a joint statement, Commissioners Arlan Melendez and Michael Yaki said they could not approve a report that fails to assess... Read More

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