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Inside Mortgage Finance

November 20, 2014

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All Cylinders Firing in 3Q14, As Surge in Conventional- Conforming Market Led Increase in Total Originations

Mortgage originations increased in all the major product categories during the third quarter of 2014, although new adjustable-rate mortgage lending was down slightly. A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis shows that conventional-conforming originations increased by 11.7 percent from the second quarter to the third. That was slightly faster than the 10.2 percent increase in jumbo production and the 10.1 percent rise in government-insured lending. The home-equity market showed...[Includes two data charts] Read More

FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund Capital Turns Positive, But No Change to Mortgage Insurance Premiums

The FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund has improved from a negative position to a positive $4.8 billion in FY 2014 after gaining nearly $6 billion in value over the last year, thanks to aggressive policy actions that led to improvements in key areas, according to an independent actuarial report sent to Congress this week. Overall, the fund showed a $21 billion improvement over the past two years due to changes the FHA implemented following the housing crisis, the report said. The changes led to improved underwriting standards for single-family mortgages, increased mortgage insurance premiums, stronger loss mitigation policies and higher recoveries, it noted. Aggressive policy actions also led... Read More

CFPB Enforcement Actions Highlight What Mortgage Servicers Need to Look Out For

A careful examination of the big-ticket enforcement actions the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has brought against leading mortgage servicers can help others in the space avoid the same fate and protect their bottom lines, according to top industry legal experts. During an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar earlier this week, Allyson Baker, a former CFPB attorney and partner at the Venable law firm in Washington, DC, discussed the importance of trends seen in a handful of servicing enforcement cases against Ocwen, SunTrust Bank and Flagstar Bank. “I think... Read More

Lower-Downpayment Mortgages Seen As Useful Products For First-Time Homebuyers, Though Fees are a Concern

First-time homebuyers could benefit from mortgages with downpayment requirements as low as 3.0 percent, but high fees on such products tend to limit their originations, according to qualitative survey results from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The government-sponsored enterprises are set to roll out products that allow combined loan-to-value ratios as high as 97.0 percent, competing with the 96.5 percent combined LTV ratio limit for certain purchase mortgages guaranteed by the FHA. In recent years, the GSEs generally have allowed for combined LTV ratios as high as 95.0 percent. “Agents commonly believe... Read More

Wells Expected to Keep MSRs Once Destined For Ocwen, At Least for a Little While

Wells Fargo is not expected to take new bids – at least anytime soon – on a highly delinquent $39 billion non-agency servicing portfolio that Ocwen Financial failed to buy because of all the regulatory scrutiny the nonbank is facing. However, servicing advisors who have seen some of the details on the portfolio contend that Wells may eventually try to unload the package next year, but is by no means under the gun to do so. “One thing you have to keep in mind is... Read More

Sen. Johnson Calls for End of Conservatorships, Dems Push Watt Hard on GSE Principal Reduction

The outgoing chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee this week urged the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to look to a final resolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while the progressives on the panel pressed the regulator and former Democrat congressman hard to approve principal reductions. “Everyone agrees that conservatorship cannot continue forever, so I hope my colleagues will keep working towards a more certain future for the housing market,” said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, during a hearing with FHFA Director Mel Watt this week. But if “Congress cannot agree on a smooth, more certain path forward I urge you, Director Watt, to engage the Treasury Department in talks to end the conservatorship.” Watt did not address... Read More

Last-Minute, Lame Duck Deal on Capitol Hill Expected on Mortgage-Related ‘Tax Extenders’

Look for down-to-the-wire haggling during the remaining hours of the 113th Congress between leaders in the Republican-controlled House and the soon-to-be minority Democrat Senate trying to hash out a deal on “tax extender” legislation, including two expired mortgage-related provisions. Nearly a full year after a series of temporary tax incentives – including the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act – expired at the end of 2013 due to partisan sniping and distinctly different legislative approaches of House and Senate tax-writing chairmen, both sides are being urged to close a deal forthwith. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen last month urged... Read More

Delinquency Rates Nudges Higher in Seasonal Shift, Adjusted Rate at Pre-Crisis Levels

Mortgage delinquencies followed a seasonal trend and rose in the third quarter of 2014, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index. The Mortgage Bankers Association, however, reported a 19 basis point drop on a seasonally-adjusted basis that put the overall rate at 5.85 percent, the lowest since the financial crisis. The 24 lenders that reported delinquency data to Inside Mortgage Finance had an average delinquency rate of 6.63 percent, up from 6.54 percent in the second quarter. Unadjusted delinquency rates usually spike higher in the third quarter, even in the midst of a downward trend. The delinquency index also showed...[Includes one data chart] Read More

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