Ocwen Financial has posted impressive results with a shared appreciation modification program that recently received broad regulatory approval. The servicer noted that the mods, which include principal reduction, benefit borrowers and mortgage investors.Ocwen launched a SAM pilot program in August and announced this week that it hopes to expand the program nationwide. Ocwen CEO Ronald Faris said 79.0 percent of borrowers that have been offered the mods have accepted and the pilot program had a ...

Funds participating in the Public-Private Investment Program suffered large decreases in their net returns due to the significant decrease in non-agency mortgage-backed security prices in the second quarter of 2011. Pricing during the quarter was negatively impacted by the Federal Reserve’s sales of non-agency MBS from the Maiden Lane II portfolio. All eight of the Public-Private Investment Funds experienced a decrease in their net internal rates of return in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the previous quarter, according to the Treasury Department. And seven of the PPIPs experienced a ... [includes one data chart]

Bank of America agreed this week to fully participate in a principal reduction modification program in California, according to the California Housing Finance Agency. BofA had participated in the program on a pilot basis since February. Qualifying borrowers are eligible for up to $100,000 in principal reduction via the “Keep Your Home California” program. Mortgage holders are required to match dollar-for-dollar the amount of ...

The mortgage industry saw a substantial 28.4 percent dive in FHA-insured mortgage loan production in the first half of 2011 compared to the same period last year, according to Inside FHA Lending’s latest analysis of government data. Approved lenders and their sponsored third-party originators combined for $100.12 billion in FHA loan originations at the end of the first six months. The top 50 FHA lenders accounted for more than half of the six-month output with an aggregated total of $53.4 billion ... [includes one data chart and one graph]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said it will soon issue guidance regarding audit requirements for small FHA direct lenders. A department spokesman said HUD is “very close” to issuing a mortgagee letter on revised compliance audit requirements needed for FHA lender approval or renewal. No date was given for the mortgagee letter’s release. On April 12, the FHA confirmed in an email to the American Bankers Association that it has approved ...

Most state-licensed mortgage companies in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry are mortgage brokers, of which a significant portion does FHA loan correspondent business, according to a recent report issued by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. As of the end of the first quarter, 14,980 companies possessed 28,415 licenses – an average of two state licenses per company, according to the report, “A Nationwide View on State-Licensed Mortgage Entities, Quarter I, 2011.” The licensee/registrant reports ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking comment on a proposed rule requiring appraisers to be certified, rather than licensed, by a state appraisal licensing board in order to be placed on the FHA appraiser roster. Mandated by the Housing and Economy Recovery Act of 2008, the proposed requirement would supersede HUD’s current practice of listing only state-licensed appraisers on the FHA roster. Although the practice complies with the statutory mandate, HUD believes the policy is outdated. There are approximately 55,000 state-certified appraisers on the FHA roster who would be ...

With the days winding down to the effective date for permanent lower loan limits set by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, the mortgage industry is strongly urging Congress to extend the current temporary higher loan limits to enable the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to continue providing liquidity until the housing market recovers sufficiently. If the temporary limits are allowed to expire on Oct. 1, getting financing for home purchases or refinancing will become more difficult and expensive for many borrowers, which may result in ...

The impact of lower loan limits on the supply of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities and other agency MBS would be very modest and that such loan limit changes should not affect Ginnie Mae prepayments, according to a recent analysis by Barclays Capital. With respect to agency MBS supply, the “permanent” lower loan limit established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 should cut the combined issuance of both conventional and Ginnie Mae pools by about 5 percent, the report said. The report, among other things ...

As FHA tightens its underwriting further to give more room for private capital in the mortgage market, the federal single-family mortgage insurance program may no longer provide mortgage alternatives for as many “non-qualified residential mortgage” borrowers as it would have in the past, according to a new report issued by the Government Accountability Office. Analyzing the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on homeowners and the mortgage market, the GAO report concludes that potential changes in the FHA’s role could influence ...