The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has issued the following reactions and analysis to the fiscal year 2011 federal budget, as proposed by the Obama Administration. "Reducing the federal deficit is vital to the long-term health of the U.S. economy and our industry. However, we believe it can and should be done without negatively impacting the already-fragile housing market," said Robert E. Story Jr., CMB, MBA's chairman. "Limiting the mortgage interest deduction and imposing additional taxes on lenders will only make economic recovery more difficult."Read more

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David Stevens has announced 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 underserved communities. The changes announced 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 nation's housing market recovery.Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has conducted its annual State of the Real Estate Finance Industry Media Conference Call. The call featured MBA representatives discussing efforts to help delinquent borrowers, MBA's new three-year macro-economic and mortgage finance/housing forecasts, a review of legislative and regulatory accomplishments in 2009, and the legislative and regulatory agenda for 2010 including GSE/secondary market reform and FHA reform.Read more

U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General Kenneth M. Donohue and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David H. Stevens have announced an initiative focusing on mortgage companies with significant claim rates against the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program. HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) subpoenas were served to the corporate offices of 15 mortgage companies across the country demanding documents and data related to failed loans which resulted in claims paid out by the FHA mortgage insurance fund.Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives has announced the passage of HR 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, by a narrow vote of 223-202. Among other enforcements, HR 4173 will create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) to regulate the credit and housing industries, places restrictions on executive compensation, and increases the government's authority when dealing with failing financial institutions.Read more

Robert E. Story Jr., CMB, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the conference report for HR 3288, the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The bill contains at least $80 million for technology upgrades and $20 million for fraud detection programs at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), as well as additional funds for fraud detection and prosecution at the U.S. Department of Justice. Below is Story's comment:Read more

Robert E. Story Jr., CMB, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), testified before the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing on the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Fiscal Year 2009 actuarial report. The following is Mr. Story's oral statement to the committee, as prepared for delivery: "Thank you, Chairman Frank.Read more

Robert E. Story Jr., CMB, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), has issued the following statement in response to the passage in the U.S. Congress of legislation to extend and expand the homebuyer tax credit: "At a time when we are finally starting to see some signs of life in the housing and mortgage markets, extending and expanding the homebuyer tax credit is a critical step to keeping the momentum.Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has applauded the passage of legislation that will maintain the existing loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) through Dec. 31, 2010. An extension of the current loan limits (which had been due to expire Dec. 31, 2009) was included in the continuing resolution (HR 2996) that passed the House of Representatives and the United States Senate on Oct. 29.Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced it has convened an executive-level panel of members to make policy recommendations to help ensure that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can continue to fulfill its mission in an evolving mortgage marketplace. Because FHA is more important than ever, MBA believes it is essential that FHA must have up-to-date resources, risk management tools, and business practices to meet current and future challenges.Read more