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Inside Mortgage Finance

January 21, 2010

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FHA Hikes Upfront Premium Fee and Seeks Lender Indemnification, But Stands Pat on Downpayments

FHA Commissioner Dave Stevens announced several significant changes to the FHA insurance program this week, including increased fees and beefed up lender enforcement, but the agency surprised many industry experts by leaving the minimum downpayment requirement at 3.5 percent. While endorsing a record $375.5 billion in single-family mortgages in 2009, the FHA has also seen... [Includes one graph] Read More

New Fair-Lending Testing Initiative on the Horizon; U.S. May Extend Studies Beyond Loan Application

Congress and the Obama administration are moving to bolster federal fair-lending enforcement, including potentially expanding testing techniques to cover mortgage underwriting and processing. The Department of Justice has quietly begun forming a new fair-lending unit within the Housing Section of its Civil Rights Division, according to top agency officials. That includes the hiring of... Read More

HAMP Conversion Rates Disappointing, Call for Program Changes Intensifies

The total number of trial modifications started under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program increased in December, but the conversion rates to permanent modifications remained low, prompting more discussion of what the program needs to make it more effective. The overall number of trial modifications offered reached 1.165 million and the... [Includes one chart] Read More

Top Lenders Report Refinance Surge in Originations in November, Applications and Home-Equity Declining

Top banks in the mortgage market reported a surge in new originations in November, spurred largely by increased refinance activity that offset a seasonal dropoff in home-purchase lending. Eleven of the top mortgage lenders that file monthly “intermediation” reports to the Treasury Department had a combined $86.07 billion in new mortgage... [Includes one chart] Read More

Dodd Considers Downgrade of CFPA in Effort to Reach Bipartisan Compromise on Regulatory Reforms

President Obama’s proposed consumer financial protection agency could lose its independent watchdog status and end up being a part of an existing federal regulator or a new super regulatory agency under a plan being discussed by Senate banking committee staff. The proposed downgrade of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency has yet to be finalized as part of an emerging bill... Read More

Top Lenders See Highly Variable Performances In Their Mortgage Banking Operations in 2009

Government efforts to prop up the housing and mortgage market – massive purchases of mortgage-backed securities that kept rates low and an open checkbook to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in business – also helped mortgage bankers enjoy strong earnings. Wells Fargo this week announced a record net income of $12.3 billion for 2009, including fourth quarter earnings of... Read More

GAO Says Worsening Negative Equity is Pushing More Subprime and Alt A Borrowers Into Default

The Government Accountability Office reported this week that nonprime mortgage performance worsened in the second quarter of 2009. The GAO’s analysis of data from LoanPerformance found a 9 percent increase in foreclosures on nonprime loans originated from 2000 to 2007. Subprime mortgages accounted for a significant portion of foreclosures, about 61 percent of the completed... Read More

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