According to an IRS private-letter ruling, certain excess servicing rights would constitute a real-estate asset, and income from the spread would be treated as interest on obligations secured by mortgages on real property.
FHA chief Carol Galante expressed concern about the absence of any provision in the bill that would ensure servicer accountability for their performance.
On average FHA took 340 days to sell REO properties based on dispositions from January 2008 through June 2012, compared to just over 200 days for Fannie, Freddie and VA.