News Topic: FHA

More FHA homeowners than expected are refinancing out of the program and into conventional mortgages, despite an increase in mortgage rates over the past year. ... Read full article

The HUD secretary’s comment that such use of the False Claims Act was “ridiculous” may delight the mortgage industry but does not bode well for taxpayers or the federal government’s future fraud enforcement efforts. ... Read full article

Growth in loans with higher debt-to-income ratios is reviving focus on a regulatory exemption for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other federal agencies that back mortgages. ... Read full article

Mark Calabria, the chief economic adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, said the administration is focused for now on more pressing issues than GSE reform, including addressing housing damage from recent hurricanes. ... Read full article

Brian Montgomery appears headed for easy confirmation for another stint as commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, despite objections by Sen. Elizabeth Warren that he is too close to the financial services industry. ... Read full article

HUD Secretary Ben Carson said he's held off making any decision on premium cuts until the confirmation of key appointments. "It has been a real ordeal getting people in place," he said. ... Read full article

Nominated last week as FHA commissioner, Brian Montgomery would lead an agency with a much better delinquency rate, but face new challenges. ... Read full article

As was expected, President Trump has nominated Brian Montgomery to serve as the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration. ... Read full article

The long-term recovery for thousands of Texans whose homes were decimated by Hurricane Harvey rests with a Trump administration government outsider who wants his agency's budget cut by billions of dollars. ... Read full article

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is facing a leadership crisis as top jobs go unfilled, leaving key decisions unresolved. ... Read full article

Policymakers should differentiate between housing finance-related issues of real importance to the greater public interest, and those that concern only special interests. ... Read full article

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell stopped short of endorsing any single housing finance reform plan, but called on lawmakers to resolve what he described as the biggest unfinished business of the crisis. ... Read full article

The Trump administration's Justice Department was expected to be less aggressive in its pursuit of False Claims Act cases against the mortgage industry. Instead, its focus has shifted to Federal Housing Administration-insured reverse mortgages. ... Read full article

The HUD secretary said millennials are being shut out of the market but the purchase of a condominium unit is often the first step to homeownership. ... Read full article

HUD secretary Carson tells lawmakers that the FHA's capital ratio is on an "upward trajectory," but he hasn't made a decision on another premium reduction. ... Read full article

The Federal Housing Administration's gateway to homeownership could be widened if the Trump administration takes actions to reduce mortgage insurance premiums and clarify lender penalties under the False Claims Act. ... Read full article

Lenders are objecting to the Trump administration's proposed $30 million fee designed to partially fund upgrades to the FHA. ... Read full article

The Trump administration will ask for more funds to improve the Federal Housing Administration's risk management systems as part of its budget expected to be released Tuesday, according to a leaked version. ... Read full article