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Tag Archives: Mortgage Insurance

United States Sues Deutsche Bank for $1B over Defaulted Mortgages

The U.S. government has filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and its mortgage unit, claiming that Germany's largest bank ""repeatedly lied"" to get into a program to select mortgages to be insured by FHA against default. Once part of the program, U.S. authorities say Deutsche Bank ""recklessly"" selected mortgages that violated the program rules ""in blatant disregard"" of whether borrowers could make their mortgage payments. The U.S. government is seeking $1 billion in damages and penalties.

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PMI Expands LTVs and Credit Scores in Distressed Markets

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. is seeing signs of strengthening in markets the firm classifies as ""distressed,"" enough so that the private mortgage insurer is relaxing its requirements for loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and minimum credit scores. PMI also announced that it has removed four markets from its ""Distressed Markets List,"" however the mortgage insurer plans to add the entire states of Arizona and Florida to the list in July. The company's analysts have also updated their forecast for sales of existing homes and price projections.

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Genworth Financial Saves $6.6B in U.S. Mortgages from Foreclosure

Genworth Financial, a mortgage insurer based in Richmond, Virginia, saved $6.6 billion in U.S. mortgages from foreclosure last year, according to the company's latest Foreclosure Prevention Scorecard. Compared to 2009, when the company saved $2.6 billion, that's an increase of more than 153 percent. Genworth says it provided nearly 40,000 workouts to distressed borrowers last year, saving each, on average, more than $195,500.

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HUD Losses From Noncomplying FHA Loans Top $11M

HUD's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed more than 250 loans from 15 lenders and found that nearly half of those loans did not meet the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) guidelines. The OIG launched Operation Watchdog in January 2010 to examine loans from the lenders and found areas of noncompliance, including misstatements of a borrower's income, liabilities, and credit history, which resulted in actual or expected FHA losses on default claims of more than $11 million.

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FHA Raises Annual Mortgage Insurance Premiums

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is wasting no time putting at least one of the Obama administration's housing finance reforms into place. The agency announced this week that it is implementing a new premium structure for FHA-insured mortgage loans. The agency is increasing its annual mortgage insurance premium by a quarter of a percentage point on all 30- and 15-year loans. The new structure applies to new loans insured by FHA on or after April 18, 2011.

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Housing Finance … Seven Years Down the Road

On top of the more imminent reform measures laid out Friday to begin winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Obama administration's proposal outlines three options for long-term reform and structuring the government's future role in housing. One approach would pull the government completely out of the mortgage guarantee business except for insurance provided through FHA. A second option would add a backstop mechanism during times of crisis to the mix. And a third option would provide an FDIC-type insurance guarantee for certain mortgage securities.

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The PMI Group Promotes Two to Deputy General Counsel

The PMI Group, Inc., a California-based provider of residential mortgage insurance and credit enhancement products, recently promoted Christopher Brunetti and William Levinthal to deputy general counsel within the company's legal department. Brunetti works on PMI's corporate and regulatory initiatives, and Levinthal supports initiatives related to mortgage insurance operations and loss mitigation.

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Private Mortgage Insurance Plays Supporting Role in Housing Market

A recent report examining the role of private mortgage insurance reveals the instrument serves a vital role in helping to establish stability within the housing market. The study, conducted by Promontory Financial Group, provides a review of how private mortgage insurance policies protect mortgage lenders and investors against the risk of defaulted mortgages by taking on a part of that risk, and how they make private capital more readily available to a broader range of potential borrowers.

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Fitch Gives United States Title Insurance a Negative Outlook for 2011

A report from Fitch Ratings paints a negative picture for the Title Insurance Industry in 2011. According to the report, the title insurance market is severely affected by the current state of the economy, most notably the sharp decline in real estate and mortgage activity. According to the report, the title insurance market is severely affected by the current state of the economy, most notably the sharp decline in real estate and mortgage activity.

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FHA Details Loan Limits for FY 2011

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has issued a notice to its approved mortgage lenders outlining the loan limitations it's put in place for fiscal year 2011. According to Mortgagee Letter 10-40 issued by the federal mortgage insurer last week, for forward loans, the limits apply to those that are originated and receive credit approval between January 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011. For reverse mortgages, the limits are applicable to all loans that have been assigned an FHA case number within the stated effective dates.

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