The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking additional authority from Congress to transfer FHA mortgage servicing in order to facilitate loss mitigation. The change would allow the FHA to require specific actions when a servicer is underperforming or has a low score on HUD’s Tiered Ranking System, including the transfer of servicing to an FHA-designated special servicer or requiring a servicer to enter into a sub-servicing agreement. With expanded powers, the FHA also may require a servicer to engage a third-party to assist in loss mitigation services. Such authority would enable the FHA to better avoid losses due to poor servicing and, thus, protect the MMI Fund, HUD said. Testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante noted...