President Trump this week directed the Treasury Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal agencies to come up with a housing-finance reform plan that includes the government-sponsored enterprises, FHA and Ginnie Mae.

The volume of FHA and VA loans securitized in Ginnie Mae pools declined in 2018, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. [Includes one data chart.]

The wholesale-funded broker is slowly penetrating more deeply in government lending, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis. [Includes one data chart.]

The battle among the three main federal housing agencies to attract more borrowers is getting more aggressive, according to the American Enterprise Institute.

FHA jumbo lenders ended 2018 on a sour note with total originations during the fourth quarter declining 9.7% on a sequential basis and a whopping 30.9% from a year ago. Purchase loans accounted for 74.3% of the FHA jumbo market last year. [Includes one data chart.]

A roundup of stories covering the government mortgage sector.

FHA delinquency rates fell 26.4 basis points between December and January and were down 14.1 bps over an eight-month period ending January, according to the Inside FHA/VA Lending database. [Includes one data chart.]

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage production fell significantly in 2018, according to Inside FHA/VA Lending’s database. [Includes two data charts.]

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has approved a class-action settlement between borrowers and a large bank to resolve allegations of illegal and unfair collection of post-payment interest on FHA-insured mortgages.

Government-backed originations fell significantly in the fourth quarter of 2018 due to a decline in purchase lending even as year-over-year results reflected the uncertainty in last year’s government-backed mortgage market. [Includes three data charts.]