At the FHA, it’s a case of ‘On the one hand…’

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on November 13, 2009 at 7:18 am

The bad news: The reserves at the Federal Housing Administration, which insures lenders against mortgage losses, are running below their mandated levels.

The encouraging news: More recent mortgages under the FHA umbrella are showing dramatically lower delinquency rates.

FHA’s recent books-of-business continue to experience elevated levels of stress due to house price declines, income loss and climbing unemployment, according to HUD’s report. For example, the ‘08 year of single-family insurance — representing 15.7% of total insurance — saw a 12.13% seriously delinquent rate as of the latest actuarial study. But the ‘07 year of insurance — representing only 5.7% of total insurance — saw an 18.53% serious delinquency rate.

The ‘09 year of insurance performed relatively well as of the most recent data, experiencing only 1.6% serious delinquencies although the loans insured in fiscal year 2009 account for more than 31% of all loans insured by FHA.

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Tags: banking, distressed assets, Federal Housing Administration, housing market, lending, loan losses, mortgages, residential real estate  

Local mortgage exec to lead FHA-focused task force

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on October 27, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Dan Crockett, CEO of Franklin American Mortgage Co., has been named chairman of a Mortgage Bankers Association panel that will advocate for the health of the Federal Housing Administration.

“During the recent run up in business, the folks at FHA have done an incredible job given the limited resources at their disposal,” said Council Chairman Dan Crockett. “Our members want to help ensure that FHA can effectively manage the risks that come with the increased business the agency is seeing. As a strong advocate of FHA and its mission, MBA wants to take proactive steps to ensure the safety and soundness of the agency today and in the future.”

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Tags: Dan Crockett, Federal Housing Administration, Franklin American Mortgage Co., lending, Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgages, The Council on the Future of FHA  

Federal Housing Administration a ‘powder keg?’

By Kleinheider Posted on April 3, 2009 at 8:40 am

From the Memphis Daily News:

As of February, 7.2 percent of loans backed by the FHA were either 90 days overdue or in foreclosure, up from 5.8 percent in August.

If losses surge too high, the agency would be forced to raise money – either by increasing insurance premiums on new borrowers or seeking a subsidy from taxpayers.

It’s too early to determine whether such a decision is imminent, officials said, but the current financial outlook is troubling.

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Tags: bad debt, Federal Housing Administration, housing market, mortgages, residential real estate