The Department of Housing and Urban Development late in the first quarter will auction off a package of up to 15,000 severely delinquent FHA-insured mortgages. A portion of the loans will be offered in Neighborhood Stabilization Outcome (NSO) pools in targeted areas.

Walter Investment Management Corp. is expanding its presence in the reverse market with an agreement to acquire Security One Lending (S1L), a California-based retail and wholesale reverse mortgage lender, in a stock-purchase deal valued at up to $31 million.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has reinstated a lawsuit that could place a widowed spouse of a deceased reverse mortgage borrower at risk of foreclosure.

Competition in FHA lending may get a boost following the easing of reporting requirements for insured depository institutions with $500 million or less in total assets.