The Mortgage Bankers Association urged lenders to review the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new loan-level and lender-level certifications to assess the legal and reputation risks to FHA lending. In a statement, MBA President/CEO David Stevens further urged lenders to analyze whether the new certification language provides sufficient protection from unwarranted false claim enforcement action. The MBA statement came as the Department of Justice, commenting on the new certifications, warned that it will continue to pursue lenders that submit false statements and false claims with the intent to defraud taxpayers. The new loan-level certification language reinforces FHA’s position that lenders should not be penalized for minor mistakes on FHA loans. It requires lenders to certify “to what they know to be true to the best of their knowledge.” Lender-level certification, carved out of the initial loan-level certification, would require lenders to certify they have not ...