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Inside FHA/VA Lending

June 29, 2018

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FHA Borrowers Stretch Payment Ability, Cash Out More Equity

The credit risk profile of incoming FHA business has shifted significantly since the beginning of last year, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities data. The biggest development has been the growth of loans with high debt-to-income ratios. There has also been a significant increase in the share of refinance loans that are cash-out transactions. FHA officials are well aware of these developments, having publicly mentioned them in testimony on Capitol Hill and at industry conferences. Officials have also raised concerns about FHA loans with downpayment assistance, although the MBS data don’t seem to indicate that there has been much change on that score. Among FHA loans endorsed in April and May, only 41.9 percent were at or below the benchmark DTI test for qualified mortgages, which is 43 percent. Through 2015 and 2016, well over half of new ... [Chart] Read More

FHA Condominium Rule Out in September, Issues ‘Too Complex’

The issues behind the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s draft FHA condominium rules are “too complex” but lenders may expect a final rule in September, said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Carson’s announcement of a release date for the long-anticipated condominium rules eases the mounting pressure on the secretary and the department to finalize the draft rules. On June 18, 54 senators and 120 members of the House signed a letter urging Carson to implement the changes in H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, which would ease FHA requirements for financing condo purchases and refinancings. The bill was signed into law on July 29, 2016, and HUD published a proposed condo rule two months later. “We have been pushing it,” Carson said during a House committee oversight hearing this week. “It is a complex issue because when you are talking ... Read More

Ginnie Mae Unveils Plan for Digital Mortgages; E-Loans on the Horizon

Ginnie Mae will be working with FHA, VA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to standardize origination policies and requirements for digital mortgages as it moves into the digital age of its secondary market business. Ginnie will coordinate with the agencies while developing technical standards for electronic closings, digital mortgage instruments and electronic vaults. All this work is part of the agency’s three-year strategy, Ginnie Mae 2020, to modernize its mortgage-backed securities program and platform, strengthen its counterparty risk management capability, and explore new ways to lower or eliminate risk from the system. As part of the modernization effort, Ginnie envisions a process that would allow it to accept digital promissory notes and other digitized loan files as eligible collateral for its MBS. It would encompass loan application through securitization. The plan calls for gradual implementation of ... Read More

Rising Mortgage Rates Dampen FHA Purchase Production in 1Q18

FHA purchase loan originations, which comprise the bulk of the agency’s business, declined during the first quarter of 2018 as mortgage interest rates continued to rise. Approximately $34.8 billion in FHA-insured purchase mortgages were made during the first three months, down 13.5 percent from the previous quarter. Purchase originations also fell 12.0 percent year-over-year, data showed. Purchase loans accounted for 71.1 percent of all FHA loans made to consumers in the first quarter. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. led all lenders with $880.8 million. This week, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose by 1 basis point to 4.71 percent from last week, according to Bankrate’s weekly survey of large lenders. Four weeks ago, the rate was 4.64 percent. Over the past 52 weeks, the 30-year fixed has averaged 4.31 percent, Bankrate added. This week’s rate is 40 basis points higher than the ... [Charts] Read More

Ginnie to Gauge Issuer Liquidity Through Periodic Stress Tests

Ginnie Mae will soon require issuers to undergo stress testing to see if they have the financial strength to withstand adverse circumstances or a severe economic downturn.The agency said it will soon begin phasing in stress testing, which would play a key role in issuer oversight and liquidity. The initiative is part of Ginnie’s effort to enhance the management of counterparty risk, one of the so-called three pillars of progress underlying the agency’s 2020 initiative. In addition to stronger risk management, the initiative aims to make significant technological improvements by 2020 and explore new opportunities to strengthen Ginnie’s MBS program. Issuers that meet the thresholds for required ratings will probably be the first ones to be stress tested, the agency said. Ginnie is also looking for ways to evaluate exposure to a single counterparty, relative to the counterparty’s financial health and the value of ... Read More

Carson Wary of Riskier FHA Loans, Certain Policies Under Scrutiny

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson reiterated concerns raised previously by his deputies regarding certain lending trends that could potentially endanger FHA’s financial health. Testifying during a HUD oversight hearing in the House Financial Services Committee this week, Carson said the department is scrutinizing certain policies that may be causing or contributing to the growth of cash-out transactions, unusually high debt-to-income ratios, serious loan delinquencies and early payment defaults. Carson said maintaining the health of the FHA mortgage insurance fund is critical in maintaining the agency as a source of credit for first time, low- and moderate-income, and minority homebuyers. The share of cash-out among all of FHA’s refinance transactions has increased to 60 percent as of April 2018 from 45 percent a year ago, he said. Also during that ... Read More

Reshuffle Plan Calls for Moving USDA Housing Programs to HUD

A Trump administration plan to roll the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural housing loan guarantee and rental assistance programs into the Department of Housing and Urban Development should not be too difficult, said HUD’s top executive. Absorbing the USDA housing programs “would not be a very difficult shift” for the department, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said during testimony on Capitol Hill this week. The proposal is part of the administration’s plan to reform and reorganize federal agencies to cut costs, eliminate duplications and overlap, and streamline regulations. However, Rep. Kenneth Lucas, R-KY, worried that rural communities face challenges that are far different and beyond those faced by typical FHA or VA homebuyers, adding that many rural homes may not meet FHA standards. Industry observers noted that even though USDA has expanded its definition of “rural areas,” FHA’s authority ... Read More

MBA Backs Legislative Efforts to Reform False Claims Act, FIRREA

The mortgage banking industry is backing a legislative proposal that would limit the government’s use of the False Claims Act to pursue hefty damages against FHA lenders. In a recent letter to the bill’s co-sponsors, the Mortgage Bankers Association expressed its strong support for H.R. 5993, the Fixing Housing Access Act of 2018. The MBA noted that originating FHA-insured loans has become very risky in recent years largely due to the civil actions brought by the Department of Justice under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989. Fifty-four FCA and FIRREA cases against financial institutions have settled for billions of dollars between July 2011 and January 2018, according to data compiled by the Buckley Sandler law firm. Four cases are pending and one civil penalty award was reversed on appeal. Those lenders who were on the ... Read More

Vendor Collecting Servicing Data For VA to Cease Service in March

Black Knight Financial Services, which currently collects all servicing data for VA, will no longer do the job after March 2019, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. BKFS will stop providing the service when VA transitions to a new enhanced VALERI system. VA servicers currently use the VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface system to upload servicing information. VALERI is undergoing a multi-phase restructuring for conversion to a fully automated system spanning loan application, origination and servicing. The enhanced servicing component of VALERI will be ready by late spring next year. As part of the transition, VA will ensure that all servicers are plugged into the new VALERI system before it becomes fully operational. VA’s transition plan covers all methods and procedures for reporting information to VALERI. These include use of a licensed servicing system or a proprietary in-house servicing system that automatically reports data to VALERI, or logging into the VALERI web portal to manually upload and enter data. Read More

Around the Industry

HUD Publishes ANPR in Disparate-Impact Regulation. The Department of Housing and Urban Development published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking in the June 20 Federal Register, seeking comments on possible changes to its 2013 disparate-impact regulation. The ANPR requests public input on whether the 2013 regulation and the supplemental 2016 Application of the Fair Housing Act’s Discriminatory Effects Standard to Insurance are consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. USDA Pilot Aims to Provide Homeownership Opportunities to Native Americans. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is launching a pilot program to help more Native Americans become homeowners. USDA is collaborating with two native Community Development Financial Institutions to increase ... Read More

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