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Inside Mortgage Finance

September 25, 2008

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Bush Administration’s Negotiations With Congress Over Huge Mortgage Intervention Lead to New Servicing Rules

While it’s unclear how effective the emerging $700 billion mortgage market rescue mission will be in restoring confidence, the still-emerging landmark program is likely to include expanded loss mitigation requirements for mortgage servicers. The Treasury Department opened the bidding early this week with a bare-bones proposal to buy up to $700 billion of mortgage-related assets... Read More

OMB Meets With Industry Groups On Controversial RESPA Reform Rule

The Office of Management and Budget has convened at least two meetings with Bush administration staff and outside experts to mull over a controversial proposal by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to overhaul the mortgage shopping process. At times in the past, the OMB has been the stage in the government rulemaking process where outside interests have succeeded in killing... Read More

‘Business as Usual’ Runs Headlong Into New Management Direction at Fannie Mae

Less than two weeks after the government takeover of Fannie Mae, the company announced an organizational realignment, the departure of four more top executives and tougher eligibility rules for approved seller servicers. As part of the internal shakeup, Fannie’s three lines of business – single-family mortgage guaranty, capital markets, and housing and community development – will report... Read More

HUD and Mortgage Lenders Face Onslaught Of Change Amidst Booming FHA Volume

Officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are racing to implement a host of new program changes at a time when FHA market share is soaring and lenders are putting increased emphasis on a product designed to help the country pull out of the Great Depression. Lenders gathered at this week’s FHA Mortgagee Conference sponsored by the National Real Estate... Read More

Mortgage Servicers Need to Educate Borrowers Before Default, IMF-Sponsored Study Suggests

Mortgage servicers looking to stem the tide of rising defaults need to focus their attention on borrowers who are current on their loans – and not just those who are delinquent. That’s one of the major findings of a new Inside Mortgage Finance-sponsored study of mortgage borrower behavior during periods of financial stress. The research, which is based on a nationwide survey of homeowners... Read More

Thrift Regulator Calls for Tighter Mortgage Underwriting Standards

The Office of Thrift Supervision last week issued updated documentation and underwriting standards designed to cut down on fraud and delinquencies, and to promote more sound practices and standardization in the industry. “Recent experience has underscored the risks associated with the business model of originating mortgages for sale using investor documentation and underwriting... Read More

Two OIG Audits Find Weaknesses in HUD’s Internal Controls, FHA Appraiser Process

With a massive workload due to burgeoning FHA lending volume and a raft of new changes to implement, the Department of Housing and Urban Development continues to struggle keeping its existing operations in sound condition, according to new reports from the agency’s Inspector General. The IG reported in a new audit that the FHA appraiser oversight still shows “material weakness” in... Read More

Top 50 Lenders Account for Lion’s Share of Mortgage Originations

Thanks to still robust wholesale mortgage production programs, the top tier of mortgage lenders in the market get their hands on virtually all home loans at some point in the process. A revised and expanding ranking of the top mortgage lenders by Inside Mortgage Finance shows that the top 50 originators produced $431.3 billion of home loans during the... [Includes one chart] Read More

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