FHA ANNOUNCES POLICY CHANGES TO ADDRESS RISK AND STRENGTHEN FINANCES

New measures will help FHA better manage risk, while maintaining support for the housing market and access for undeserved communities.
WASHINGTON — Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David Stevens announces a set of policy changes to strengthen the FHA’s capital reserves, while enabling the agency to continue to fulfill its mission to provide access to homeownership for undeserved communities. These changes are the latest in a series of changes Stevens has enacted in order to better position the FHA to manage its risk while continuing to support the housing market recovery.
The FHA will propose to take the following steps: increase the mortgage insurance premium (MIP); update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers; reduce seller concessions to three percent, from six percent; and implement a series of significant measures aimed at increasing lender enforcement.
“Striking the right balance between managing the FHA’s risk, continuing to provide access to undeserved communities, and supporting the nation’s economic recovery is critically important,” said Commissioner Stevens. “When combined with the risk management measures announced in September of last year, these changes are among the most significant steps to address risk in the agency’s history. Additionally, by continuing to provide affordable, responsible mortgage products, FHA will support the housing market’s recovery. Importantly, FHA will remain the largest source of home purchase financing for undeserved communities.”
ANNOUNCED FHA POLICY CHANGES  Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending. The first step will be to raise the up-front MIP by 5 bps to 2.25% and request legislative authority to increase the maximum annual MIP that FHA can charge. If this authority is granted, then the second step will be to shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP. This shift will allow for the capital reserves to increase with less impact to the consumer, because the annual MIP is paid over the life of the loan instead of at the time of closing. The initial up-front increase is included in a Mortgagee Letter released January 21st and will go into effect in the spring. Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers. New borrowers will now be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA’s 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 FICO score will be required to put down at least 10%. This allows the FHA to better balance its risk and continue to provide access for those borrowers who have historically performed well. This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer. Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%. The current level exposes the FHA to excess risk by creating incentives to inflate appraised value. This change will bring FHA into conformity with industry standards on seller concessions. This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer. Increase enforcement on FHA lenders. Publicly report lender performance rankings to complement currently available Neighborhood Watch data; will be available on the HUD website February 1. This is an operational change to make information more user-friendly and hold mortgage lenders more accountable; it does not require new regulatory action as Neighborhood Watch data is currently publicly available.
 Enhance monitoring of lender performance and compliance with FHA guidelines and standards. Implement Credit Watch termination through lender underwriting ID in addition to originating ID. Implement statutory authority through regulation of section 256 of the National Housing Act to enforce indemnification provisions for lenders using delegated insuring process. This change is included in a Mortgagee Letter released January 21st and is effective immediately. Specifications of this change will be posted in March, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in early summer. HUD is pursuing legislative authority to increase enforcement on FHA lenders. Specific authority includes: Amendment of section 256 of the National Housing Act to apply indemnification provisions to all Direct Endorsement lenders. This would require all approved mortgagees to assume liability for all of the loans that they would originate and underwrite. Legislative authority permitting HUD maximum flexibility to establish separate “areas” for purposes of review and termination under the Credit Watch initiative. This would provide authority to withdraw originating and underwriting approval for a lender nationwide on the basis of the performance of its regional branches.
In addition to the changes proposed, the FHA is continuing to review its overall response to housing market conditions, and continuing to evaluate its mortgage insurance underwriting standards and its measures to help distressed and underwater borrowers through FHA/HAMP and other FHA initiatives going forward.
HUD is the nation’s housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation’s fair housing laws.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street S.W., Washington, DC 20410 Telephone: (202) 708-1112 TTY: (202) 708-1455