The pause was ultimately rescinded following court injunctions. In the meantime, participants in government-insured mortgage programs faced uncertainty.

VA is considering a rule that would require lenders to use a new application program interface to report loan information and remit funding fees to the agency. It also plans to rewrite rules regarding when VA would assert a defense for a partial or total loss of a guarantee.

VA origination fees will stay at elevated levels through mid-2034 rather than coming down near the end of 2031. The extension was prompted by a bill that passed Congress with broad bipartisan support.

The VA has introduced a new program participation management system for its loan guaranty program.

VA wants servicers to immediately stop offering previously outlined loss-mitigation options from Chapter 5 of its servicers’ handbook.

Servicers have until Oct. 1 to implement the new VA Servicing Purchase loss-mitigation program. Meanwhile, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs introduced legislation to authorize a VA partial-claim loss-mitigation option.

After falling below $100 billion in each of the previous two periods, Ginnie Mae issuance turned a corner in the second quarter. But volume is still far off the numbers for most of the past four years. (Includes four data charts.)

The interest rate on VA’s Native American Direct Loan program has been lowered to 2.5% for the next two years.

Trade groups recommended VA establish a permanent partial claim program that allows servicers to combine a partial claim with a loan modification for borrowers that need to reduce their monthly payments.

The VA is adding a step to its appraisal bias detection procedures. Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors told the agency not to rush its appraisal modernization efforts.