Tag Archives: Mortgage Insurance

The Federal Housing Administration says it has sustained significant losses from home loans insured prior to 2009. As a result, its capital reserve ratio remains below the threshold mandated by law. The agency has $4.7 billion in cash reserves, which equals 0.5 percent of outstanding single-family mortgages insured. The minimum requirement is 2 percent. Despite the shortfall, Commissioner David Stevens says the agency will not need a taxpayer subsidy, and he stressed that even in a worst-case scenario, there's enough money to cover claim losses.

Bank of America says Old Republic International is wrongfully withholding payment on hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgage insurance claims on loans that have defaulted. BofA has filed a lawsuit against the mortgage insurer seeking to recover more than $160 million in damages. Bank of America says between 2009 and 2010, claims paid by Old Republic under its policy fell by 75 percent and denials persist, although the mortgage insurer markets its services as protecting lenders ""against default loss for virtually any reason.""

The mortgage insurance division of Genworth Financial, Inc. now accepts Federal Housing Administration (FHA) appraisals as part of its conventional mortgage underwriting process. Available to lenders who are approved to do business with Genworth Mortgage Insurance, appraisals originally completed for an FHA loan can now be used for a conventional Genworth-insured loan. The company says this new arrangement allows it to underwrite conventional applications in as little as 48 hours at no additional cost to the borrower.

Bank of America and Fidelity National Financial have come to an agreement regarding the foreclosure paperwork issues that have plagued several of the largest lenders in the past weeks. Fidelity will continue to provide title insurance for BofA's foreclosed properties and defend new homeowners in court if title issues arise. The bank has agreed to cover all court related costs and settlements resulting from lawsuits surrounding title issues. The news comes just as Bank of America has announced that it will resume foreclosures in 23 judicial states beginning October 25th.

HUD is recommending new regulations to force lenders to reimburse the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for insurance claims paid on mortgages that don't meet the agency's underwriting guidelines. The proposed rule would also require all new and existing FHA lenders to meet stricter performance standards to gain and maintain their approval status. FHA, at its own discretion, without any judicial or administrative action necessary, will have the authority to immediately withdraw a lender's ability to insure mortgage loans.

Based on data from six member firms, Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA) reports that the companies accounted for a total of $780.3 billion in primary mortgage insurance in force in August. The private mortgage insurance industry enjoyed its best month of the year for new business. The dollar volume of primary insurance on newly originated conventional mortgages totaled $6.4 billion. MICA's members reported that 32,215 borrowers used private mortgage insurance to buy or refinance a home in August.

Questions about the legality of foreclosure proceedings have prompted Old Republic National Title Insurance to decide it will no longer insure titles to homes foreclosed by JPMorgan Chase and GMAC Mortgage. Chase and GMAC both halted foreclosure sales in 23 states and are reviewing legal filings that they say may have been signed without a notary's presence or without verifying the supporting documents.

Mortgage insurer Radian Guaranty Inc. has made a $200,000 grant to HOPE LoanPort to be used by borrowers, non-profit counselors, servicers, and other organizations to improve the execution of loss mitigation activities, including those under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Radian's contribution will be used to support HOPE LoanPort in its mission to address some of the hurdles borrowers face when seeking foreclosure alternatives.

Mortgage insurer Genworth Financial saved almost $4.8 billion in mortgages from foreclosure in the 12 months ending June 30, 2010. These statistics represent a nearly 80 percent increase from the same period last year. More than half of total mortgage dollars saved were the result of the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Genworth reports that it completed more than 30,000 mortgage workouts nationwide during the period via its homeowner assistance program.