The overall delinquency rate among FHA-insured portfolios dropped during the first three months of 2013 while little change was seen in the foreclosure rate quarter over quarter, according to an Inside FHA Lending analysis of FHA data. Top FHA servicer data showed that 15.3 percent of the more than 7.68 million active FHA-insured loans were delinquent as of the end of the first quarter. Although elevated, that percentage was down from the 16.9 percent overall delinquency rate reported by FHA servicers at the end of the fourth quarter last year. The share of FHA-insured mortgages in foreclosure remained flat from quarter to quarter, a sign that the housing crisis may have ... [1 chart]

VA Issues Warning. Loans reported for guaranty more than 60 days after loan closing will be subject to automatic full review, the Department of Veterans Affairs warned. In guidance issued earlier this month, the VA reminded lenders that they must enter guaranty requests in the VA’s webLGY system within 60 days of closing or risk going through another review and additional requirements. If a loan is guaranteed late, the lender must include a brief explanation and a certification that the loan was current when they submitted the file to VA. Timely reporting of loans for VA guaranty ensures ...

A major mortgage lender and four private mortgage insurance companies – all co-defendants in a class-action lawsuit over captive reinsurance – failed to convince a federal court that the case should be thrown out because the charges were brought well after the timeframe allowed under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Instead, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the mortgage borrowers should have the benefit of “equitable tolling,” which allows plaintiffs to bring cases beyond the normal limits of the law if the defendant actively misled them or the plaintiff was prevented in some extraordinary way from asserting his rights in a timely manner. RESPA generally requires...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fiscal 2014 budget proposal is in for some rough sailing in Congress as House appropriators, unmoved by pleas to soften the impact of sequestration, criticized HUD’s lack of commitment to fiscal reform. Appearing as the sole witness before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan had an earful from Republican lawmakers who expressed “deep concern” about the lack of comprehensive reform proposals in the proposed budget. Subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham, R-IA, expressed...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s oversight of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks’ growing amount of advances to insurance companies should be improved to include tighter coordination with state regulatory authorities, according to the agency’s official watchdog. The FHFA Office of Inspector General’s recent audit noted FHLBank advances to insurance company members have dramatically increased even as overall advances have declined in recent years. From 2005 through 2012, the volume of FHLBank advances to insurance companies increased “over fourfold” from $11.5 billion to $52.4 billion.

Anticipation of a boom in the purchase-mortgage market has prompted some conventional conforming lenders to roll out products with no mortgage insurance, and the response has been overwhelming. The 360 Mortgage Group in Austin, TX, recently launched its exclusively wholesale “NOMI” (no-MI) product and demand has been very strong, executives said. “One week after launch, we have been getting calls from mortgage brokers, correspondents, real estate agents and consumers who are very ...

The four surviving private MIs that are still writing new business after the wreckage of the hous-ing market collapse last week agreed to pay a relatively modest $15.40 million to settle a longstanding dispute over their arrangements with captive reinsurance entities sponsored by lenders. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged that Genworth Financial, United Guaranty, Radian Guaranty and Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. violated the Real Estate Settlement Proce-dures Act by paying illegal kickbacks – in the form of reinsurance premiums – to get business from mortgage lenders. “The payments made as supposed ‘reinsurance’ premiums did not correspond to a proportionate transfer of insurance risk between the parties,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. An Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of MI regulatory filings suggests...

Industry groups are urging Congress and the FHA to consider incorporating risk-sharing into the agency’s business model while appearing leery of other proposals, such as risk-based pricing and reduced FHA coverage. Testifying at a hearing before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors said that while they do not support risk-sharing between FHA and private mortgage insurers, it is an option that is worth exploring in the context of FHA reform. There was...

Reaction to a report about Obama administration efforts to get banks to increase their purchase mortgage lending, particularly through the FHA, has ranged from supportive to dire warnings of déjà vu. Apparently, administration officials are trying to push banks to make more loans to qualified lower-income borrowers as well as minority and first-time homebuyers who have been shut out of the mortgage market because of stringent credit overlays. The report, which ran in the April 2 Washington Post, described the targeted borrowers as “people with weaker credit,” which, for some, conjures up the ...

The FHA is seeking comment on a proposal to change the period for reviewing loans for direct endorsement from pre- to post-closing in order to increase the number of acceptable loans and, therefore, reduce any potential risk to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Under the proposal, a lender applying for unconditional direct endorsement authority would be required to submit the necessary loan files only after closing. After determining that the mortgage is acceptable and meets all FHA requirements, the agency would notify the lender that the loan has been endorsed. Current regulations provide for ...