If a loan defaults, FHA covers virtually 100 percent of loss, while MI covers first losses down to a stated coverage percentage. FHA’s policy may provide less incentive to ensure that loans are underwritten and serviced in a sensible and sustainable way, while MI’s policy may create a stronger incentive to better underwriting and good servicing, according to Gupta.
Read More »MetLife to Pay $123 Million to Resolve Claims of Lending Violations on Loans Backed by FHA, HUD
MetLife Home Loans, a mortgage finance company headquartered in Irving, Texas, has agreed to pay $123.5 million to settle claims of lending violations on government-backed mortgage loans committed by one of its subsidiaries under the False Claims Act, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Read More »FHA Commissioner Reaffirms Commitment to Middle Class, Administration’s Role
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Acting Commissioner Biniam Gebre reaffirmed his organization's commitment to America's middle class as well as the role of the Administration and defended the FHA's recent lowering of the mortgage insurance premiums in statement released Thursday. Gebre's statement provides a preview of his upcoming appearance at the Five Star Government Forum on March 18 in Washington, D.C., where he will sit down for a one-on-one interview with Five Star Institute President and CEO Ed Delgado to discuss FHA's recent housing policy changes and the future of the organization.
Read More »House Subcommittee to Hold Second Hearing on FHA’s Financial State
The second in a series of hearings to examine the financial health of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will take place next week in Washington, D.C., according to an announcement on Friday from the chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).
Read More »The Collingwood Group Hires Former FHFA Senior Policy Analyst as VP
Longtime housing finance policy expert Bonnie McCloskey has joined Washington, D.C.-based business advisory firm The Collingwood Group as vice president, according to an announcement from the firm.
Read More »Castro Responds to Questions About Effects of Defaults
While most Republican lawmakers grilled HUD Secretary Julián Castro on the recent lowering of the FHA mortgage insurance premiums and FHA's MMI Fund Wednesday during his testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, Representative Mia Love (R-Utah) opted to cover a different subject: defaults and their potentially negative effect on their respective neighborhoods.
Read More »Castro Optimistic About Future MMI Fund Growth, Defends Lowering of Premiums
In his first time to testify before Congress since being named HUD Secretary last July, Julián Castro on Wednesday defended the decision to lower FHA mortgage insurance premiums and predicted that the agency's Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund would exceed the required 2 percent ratio within two years.
Read More »HUD Secretary Castro to Testify Before House Financial Services Committee on February 11
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, February 11, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
Read More »FHA Commissioner Joins Five Star Government Forum Speaker Lineup
The Five Star Institute announced the addition Friday of Biniam T. Gebre, Acting Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), as a featured speaker at the Sixth Annual Five Star Government Forum on March 18 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Gebre will sit down for a one-on-one interview with Five Star Institute President and CEO Ed Delgado to discuss FHA policies, standards, and programs impacting housing and homeownership across the United States.
Read More »New FHA Policy Provides Foreclosure Alternative on Reverse Mortgages
A new policy issued by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Thursday under its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program will allow reverse mortgage lenders to delay calling HECMs from a surviving non-borrowing spouse following the death of the last surviving borrower. Such a delay on collection of the HECM from the surviving non-borrowing spouse would postpone the foreclosure process normally triggered by last surviving borrower's death. Under the new policy, reverse mortgage lenders have the option of assigning the HECM to HUD, thus allowing that spouse to remain in the home despite his or her non-borrowing status.
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