JPMorgan Chase and U.S. Bancorp each took different routes in shrinking their MBS portfolios…

With $269.01 billion in flow MI business for the year, private MIs recorded a modest 0.6 percent increase from 2016.

The budget proposal calls for exempting “small lenders” – companies that generate about 20 percent of FHA business – from the IT fee.

Look for New Residential to become a buyer of Ginnie Mae servicing packages...

The correspondent share of the FHA market rose to 48.6 percent last year…

Ginnie Mae this week warned nine VA lenders suspected of engaging in loan churning to each develop a plan to slow the rapid pace of prepayments they have triggered in the agency’s securitized loan pools. According to Ginnie, the issuers were directed individually to deliver correction action plans containing measures that could be deployed immediately to bring prepayment speeds in line with market peers. The agency told issuers they would be barred from multi-issuer pools if they do not come up with a plan. Participation would be allowed only in the agency’s custom pools. The latest action builds off the Ginnie Mae/VA Loan Churn Task Force, which has been working since September to resolve the churning problem. “We have an obligation to take necessary measures to prevent the lending practices of a few from impairing the performance of our multi-issuer securities, and thus raising the ... [ Chart ]

The steadiest source of new FHA and VA loans flowing into Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities came from correspondent lending platforms, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis. In the fourth quarter, however, correspondent originations declined more than retail and wholesale-broker production. Ginnie last year securitized $115.05 billion of FHA loans that issuers acquired from correspondent lenders. That was down 2.8 percent from 2016, but total FHA loan deliveries dropped 13.9 percent over that period. The correspondent share of the FHA market rose to 48.6 percent last year, a gain of 5.5 percentage points from 2016. FHA loans generated by brokers accounted for 14.8 percent of 2017 activity, up slightly from the previous year. But retail-originated FHA loan volume plummeted 25.5 percent, dropping the channel’s share of the market to 36.6 percent – down from 42.3 percent back in ... [ Chart ]

The Department of Veterans Affairs will require lenders to provide early disclosures to veterans seeking to refinance into a VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan. The new policy aims to ensure that the VA streamline refi loan they sought would actually lower their monthly mortgage payments and is not just a scam for lenders to charge higher fees. Loan churning, or serial refinancing, is at the root of the VA policy change. Churning refers to multiple refinancing of an unseasoned mortgage loan within a very short time, often within six months of origination. Serial refinancing may add more payments and interest to the new loan, prolonging debt repayment, and can strip equity. It also potentially raises the risk of default by the borrower. In addition, the risk of prepayment could affect pricing of Ginnie Mae securities, which could cause lenders to charge higher rates on VA loans to make up for the ...

Two recent internal policy memos from the Department of Justice suggest that the agency is reevaluating its approach in two key areas of enforcement, which may significantly affect False Claims Act litigation in FHA cases. Issued last month (one was actually leaked), the memos pertain to the dismissal of frivolous whistleblower cases when the government declines to intervene, and the prohibition of DOJ attorneys relying on an entity’s noncompliance with agency guidance as presumptive or conclusive evidence that the entity violated the law. Written by Michael Granston, director of the DOJ’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the leaked Jan. 10 memo directs federal prosecutors to consider dismissing meritless FCA complaints by whistleblowers when considering whether DOJ should intervene in the ...

A surge in anti-churning efforts by legislators and regulators to address the churning of VA loans has prompted analysts to examine certain policy changes, potential cures and pending legislation designed to protect veterans from predatory serial refinancing schemes. For instance, bipartisan legislation introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Thom Tillis, R-NC, would establish a minimum 50 basis point incentive for qualified VA refi mortgages, recoupment of refi costs within three years, and a six-month seasoning period before the initial loan could be refinanced into a new VA loan. However, Wells Fargo Securities analysts are concerned that S 2304, Protecting Veterans from Predatory Lending Act of 2018, does not distinguish between rate-term refinancing and cash-out refinancing and may wind up eliminating cash-out refi as an option for cash-strapped veterans. Although some lenders used ...