HUD to Issue Guidance on Lender Credit Overlays, Galante Echoes Agency Concerns About the Practice
June 14, 2012
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is working on a mortgagee letter to guide FHA-approved lenders on their use of credit overlays to protect themselves from potential liability in single-family mortgage transactions. In remarks at a Women in Housing and Finance meeting this week in Washington, DC, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said the department is concerned about FHA lenders boosting credit score requirements much higher than what the FHA would allow. Galante said lenders are requiring credit scores of 700 and higher, well above the traditional FHA score requirement of 640...