The FHA has automated the delivery of notices to targeted lenders that receive an “unacceptable” rating following a post-endorsement review of a sample of their FHA-insured mortgage loans. The agency’s notification process shifted from manual to electronic effective on April 27, with the deployment of a new automated system for delivering notices of unacceptable findings, or eFindings letter. The change speeds up the process of determining whether a direct-endorsement lender should be subject to an indemnification request from FHA because of faulty underwriting. The enhanced delivery process will make it easier for lenders to do business with the FHA, the agency said. The post-endorsement audit is crucial to the success of the FHA’s direct-endorsement program. The FHA performs a post-endorsement technical review (PETR) on selected cases to evaluate the risk loans pose to ...

Mortgage brokers accounted for almost 13 percent of originations packaged into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities in the first quarter of 2015, one of the highest readings in quite some time, according to loan-level data compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. In the fourth quarter, the broker market share was 10.0 percent, a figure that includes originations of all loan types and not just ones packaged into securities. Over the past several quarters, there has been...

The CFPB brought an enforcement action against RMK Financial Corp., a California-based mortgage lender, for allegedly using deceptive mortgage advertising practices, including ads that led consumers to believe that the company was affiliated with the U.S. government. According to the CFPB, RMK used the names and logos of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the FHA in mailed advertisements in such a way as to falsely imply that the ads were sent by the VA or FHA, or that the company or the mortgage products it advertised were endorsed or sponsored by those agencies. RMK’s ads also allegedly misrepresented the loans’ interest rates and estimated monthly payments, including whether the interest rate was fixed or variable. Consumers who called the ...

The FHA is urging 203(k) program lenders and consultants to be aware of key policy revisions when reviewing the published versions of the 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program and 203(k) Consultant Requirements in the new Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook. The revised policies include changes to reflect a clearer, more direct and consistent language and terminology. However, they do not represent a significant departure from 203(k) origination policies or ...

1st Alliance Lending of East Hartford, CT, has announced a new multi-channel lending platform to help underwater homeowners refinance into affordable government-backed mortgages and help those who have lost their homes previously in bankruptcy obtain a new mortgage. The platform focuses mainly on the FHA Short Refi program and the agency’s “Back to Work – Extenuating Circumstances” program. The multi-channel platform adds a wholesale channel to ...

New Standards for VA Compliance Inspectors. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that compliance inspectors must adhere to new qualifications and pass an updated, more comprehensive exam that includes information relevant to Specially Adapted Housing. Policy staff decided the current exam was not effective since it did not address issues such as SAH-specific building practices, procedures, and minimum property requirements ... [Includes two briefs]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued a robust $189.92 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities during the first three months of 2015, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis.Business in the GSEs’ core MBS guaranty program grew 5.9 percent from the fourth quarter of last year. The pace in early 2015 was up a hefty 47.0 percent from the same period last year, which was the weakest quarter in over a decade. Nonbank seller/servicers continued to gain market share. These companies accounted for 45.6 percent of GSE MBS issued in early 2015, and their total production was up 7.7 percent from the previous quarter. (Includes 2 exclusive charts).

At least three years have passed since Bank of America stopped selling new purchase-money loans into Fannie Mae securities, a drought that has benefitted at least one party: Freddie Mac. According to new figures compiled by Inside MBS & ABS, in the first quarter of 2015 BofA sold $9.57 billion of mortgages into Freddie securities, beating out Wells Fargo ($8.194 billion), which traditionally has ranked first in sales to both government-sponsored enterprises. Then again, there is...

Some MBS investors and industry analysts were taken aback when the latest prepayment rates on the government-sponsored enterprises’ risk-transfer deals were reported last week. The spike in prepayments was due to low interest rates in January, with the risk-sharing deals more susceptible to prepayments than agency MBS overall due to the collateral included in them. Prepayment rates were particularly high on Freddie Mac Structured Agency Credit Risk transactions. Analysts at Barclays Capital said M1 tranches on STACR 2014-DN3 and STACR 2014-HQ1 experienced large pay-downs in March due to “seemingly high” prepayments. STACR 2014-DN3 M1 paid down by 18.0 percent in March and STACR 2014-HQ1 M1 paid down by 8.4 percent. “While the jump in prepayment speeds could be expected after the rates rally earlier this year, the magnitude of the jump may seem...

FirstKey Lending and B2R Finance are vying to be the first issuer of a multi-borrower single-family rental securitization. The activity follows 16 single-borrower single-family rental transactions that have been issued since November 2013. The first presale report on a multi-borrower single-family rental transaction was published March 31 by Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The $240.79 million FirstKey Lending 2015-SFR1 is set to receive a AAA rating with credit enhancement of 37.75 percent on the senior tranche, according to the rating service. FirstKey is owned by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management. On April 1, Fitch Ratings published...