Investor Update
March 9, 2017
1. Purpose. The purpose of this Circular is to extend the rescission date of the basic Circular.
2. Therefore, Circular 26-15-30, Change 1 is changed as follows:
Page 2, paragraph 8: Delete “January 1, 2017.” and insert “January 2, 2019.”
By Direction of the Under Secretary for Benefits
Jeffrey F. London
Director, Loan Guaranty Service
Source: VA
Additional Resource:
VA (Circular 26-15-30)
Investor Update
March 29, 2017
The USDA, Customer Service Center, located in St. Louis Missouri, is providing training sessions to assist all active, participating lenders with Loss Mitigation, Property Disposition and Loss Claim processing.
Lenders will be required to complete and remit the Training Registration Form in advance for any and/or all training opportunities. Seating will be limited. All training material will be provided on site. At a glance, below is a list of the training sessions being offered (Full Training Curriculum Schedule):
Loss Mitigation Sessions*
May 22-23, 2017
August 14-15, 2017
Loss Claim/PDP Sessions*
May 22-23, 2017
August 14-15, 2017
*All training session times will be offered during Central Daylight Time and there will be no registration fees or charges for the training session(s).
Training Facility Location:
USDA/RD/Customer Service Center
4300 Goodfellow Blvd.
Building 105
St. Louis, MO 63120
Registration Contacts:
william.wines@stl.usda.gov
coyita.mosley@stl.usda.gov
Facility Access
Travel expenses to and from the facility will be the Lender’s responsibility. Access to the facility is restricted without proper clearance (directions from front gate of training facility to designated parking area). Below, please finds a list of requirements/procedures that must be met to gain access to facility:
1. The person driving any vehicle on premises must be preregistered and designated as the driver and include a list of all passengers.
2. Each person that will attend the training must be preregistered.
3. Upon arrival, each person will be required to provide one of the following forms of Identification that must include your Picture: a) Valid Pass Port, b) Valid State Driver’s License, c) Valid State Issued ID or d) Valid Military ID.
4. Upon confirmation of attendance, parking assignment and site passes will be issued at the front gate.
5. All persons attending will need to arrive a minimum of 30 minutes prior to the session’s scheduled start time to allow sufficient time for site access.
General Travel Guidance
Travel to and from the facility is the responsibility of the Lender. Attendees should ensure that travel to and from the facility is planned to accommodate the start and conclusion of each training session. In addition, sufficient time should be allotted for air travel, depending upon the attendee’s destination. St. Louis offers ample Hotel accommodations near St. Louis Lambert Airport and Downtown St. Louis. Both areas are within approximately 15 minutes of the facility.
Help Resources
Policy Questions
Customer Service Center
Phone: 866-550-5887
Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Division
Phone: 202-720-1452
USDA ITS Service Desk Support Center
For e-Authentication assistance
Email: eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov
Phone: 800-457-3642, option 1 (USDA e-Authentication Issues)
Rural Development Help Desk
For GUS system, outage or functionality assistance
Email: RD.HD@STL.USDA.GOV
Phone: 800-457-3642, option 2 (USDA Applications); then option 2 (Rural Development)
Source: USDA
Investor Update
March 20, 2017
In January 2017, an estimated 29,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifications from mortgage servicers during the month according to HOPE NOW, a non-profit alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, counselors, and other mortgage market participants. This total includes modifications completed under both proprietary programs and the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Of the permanent loan modifications performed that month, approximately 20,000 were through proprietary programs while 9,521 were through HAMP. The HAMP program ended officially in December 2016, though servicers will continue to review homeowners who applied before December 31.
Loan modifications increased by 3 percent from December 2016 to January 2017. Total non-foreclosure solutions, such as total loan modifications, short sales, deed in lieu, and workout plans, for January 2017 approximated 102,000, compared to 26,000 foreclosure sales.
Additionally, foreclosure starts and sales saw an increase in those two months. Foreclosure starts jumped from 49,000 in December to 55,000 in January, while foreclosure sales jumped from 20,000 to 26,000 in that same time. HOPE NOW notes that increases in foreclosure starts and sales are typical with their historical data. Although sales and starts are up month-over-month, the year-over-year data saw decreases. Starts are down 4 percent from January 2016, and sales are down 22 percent.
Other non-foreclosure options decreased in January. Short sales dropped from 4,200 in December to 3,700 in January, while the number deed in-lieu stayed at 1,200 in that time. Serious delinquencies are down month-over-month in January, from 1.50 million in December to 1.46 million in January.
“The HOPE NOW Alliance continues to work with homeowners in need and emphasizes on assisting those that are having difficulties with their mortgage,” said HOPE NOW Executive Director Eric Selk. “Our monthly collection of data indicates that the housing market is improving and setting new norms in the post-crisis environment.”
HOPE NOW will host loss mitigation outreach events in West Palm Beach Florida on April 6 and in Miami on April 8.
Source: DS News
Additional Resource
HOPE NOW (Data Report: January 2017)
Investor Update
March 30, 2017
Updated Data Dictionaries Posted
In connection with the July 2017 release of the HAMP Reporting System, updated versions of the following Data Dictionaries were posted on HMPadmin.com:
MHA Program Milestone Reporting Guidance Job Aid Posted
This job aid provides a reference guide to view program milestones and the associated reporting impacts to Servicers.
Questions?
Email the HAMP Solution Center or call 1-866-939-4469; to reach Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS), select option 1, then option 5.
Source: MHA
Investor Update
March 2, 2017
The communication plan for the July 2017 Release has been posted on the open and secure sides of HMPadmin.com. This plan provides a high-level overview of the upcoming release with key milestones identified.
Please review the July 2017 Release Communication Plan for more details. This plan can be found in the Release Notes tab under the Loan Reporting Documents section on HMPadmin.com.
Questions?
Email the HAMP® Solution Center or call 1-866-939-4469; to reach Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS), select option 1, then option 5.
Source: MHA
Investor Update
March 30, 2017
Starting April 29, we’ll begin introducing a new password reset capability for Single-Family customers who access our tools through our website. This improved, self-service feature allows you to better manage your password and access to Freddie Mac tools and applications.
We’ll deploy the new capability in three phases:
Phase one: April 29, 2017: Mortgage Insurance Access System
Phase two: May 12, 2017:
Phase three: June 25, 2017 for Loan Advisor Suite® tools: Loan Product Advisor®
What to Expect
Beginning the day of migration, when you log in to a Freddie Mac tool or application, you’ll be redirected to a Customer Access Administration web page to update your security profile by setting up login security questions. This will allow you to reset a forgotten password yourself or retrieve your user ID, at any time, without having to call Freddie Mac Customer Support.
Please note: If you’re a Loan Product Advisor desktop-to-web or web-to-web customer, when you log in, a modal window will appear with an alert to set up security questions. Once you’ve read the alert, click the “OK” button, then you’ll be redirected to the Customer Access Administration web page to update your security profile by setting up login security questions.
The security profile update is a one-time process, but you’ll be able to modify your information, once it’s entered, at any time. Also, if you’ve updated your profile for a tool during one phase, you won’t need to do it again for a different tool in a later phase. However, if you have multiple user IDs, you’ll have to update your profile for each ID.
For more information, please contact Customer Support (800-FREDDIE).
Source: Freddie Mac
Investor Update
March 23, 2017
In response to your feedback, and with the understanding that the Investor Reporting Change Initiative is a significant effort, we’re extending the implementation date from October 1, 2018, to May 1, 2019.
We’ve listened to you and realize you’re managing competing priorities. We’re providing you with more time for development and to incorporate the investor reporting changes into your policies and procedures. We can only be successful if we work together. An important part of our partnership is listening and, when needed, compromising to ensure a smooth implementation.
Thank you for your continued hard work and collaboration as we move investor reporting closer to an industry standard.
For More Information
Source: Freddie Mac
Investor Update
March 24, 2017
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the second quarter of 2019 as the timeframe for Release 2 of the Common Securitization Platform (CSP) and the launch of the Single Security. Detailed information on the revised timetable can be found in FHFA’s recent update on the multiyear Single Security initiative.
Freddie Mac began using the CSP in November last year (Release 1) to perform certain issuance and bond administration functions for certain Freddie Mac Participation Certificates (PCs). Release 2 will allow Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to use the CSP to issue a single, common security called Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities or UMBS.
As a reminder, our transition to the platform does not change the way Seller/Servicers do business with us.
For More Information
Source: Freddie Mac
Investor Update
March 9, 2017
Freddie Mac reached a major milestone thanks to our Servicers and their diligent work with borrowers.
In our January 2017 Monthly Volume Summary [PDF], Freddie Mac disclosed our single-family serious delinquency (SDQ) rate dropped below one percent – the lowest it’s been in almost a decade. The reduction in borrowers who are 90 or more days delinquent, or in foreclosure, shows how far we’ve come as a business and as an industry.
Freddie Mac’s SDQ rate peaked at 4.2% in 2010 but, with the significant amount of work our Servicers have done, we’ve made incredible strides together. Our Servicers have been at the forefront of helping homeowners, implementing updated foreclosure prevention policies and using Freddie Mac’s flexible loss mitigation toolkit. Through their resolve and dedication to help troubled borrowers since 2009, 1.2 million struggling homeowners have been able to stay in their homes.
We’ll continue to accomplish great things together moving forward, but it’s worth taking a moment to recognize this milestone. Freddie Mac publically thanks all of our Servicers for their continued commitment to supporting America’s housing market and responsible homeownership.
Source: Freddie Mac
Investor Update
March 29, 2017
Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Progress Report today summarizing the 2016 activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to further FHFA’s three strategic objectives as conservator: Maintain, Reduce, and Build.
The Progress Report details efforts made to address borrower impediments to credit access while transitioning from crisis era policies and programs to those that will help borrowers and communities that are still struggling. The Report also describes advances made in the Enterprises’ credit risk transfer programs and other activities designed to increase the role of private capital in the secondary mortgage market and reduce risk for taxpayers. The Report also describes the successful implementation of Release 1 of the Common Securitization Platform, a significant milestone toward the ultimate goals of building a new securitization infrastructure and issuance by both Enterprises of a single, common security. In addition, the Progress Report documents Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s ongoing actions to promote diversity and inclusion in furtherance of the strategic goals of the conservatorships.
“In collaboration with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FHFA has made significant progress in meeting our conservatorship objectives,” said FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt. “This report underscores our commitment to transparency as we continue to foster liquidity and efficiency in the housing finance markets, reduce risk to taxpayers and build a new mortgage securitization infrastructure, all in a safe and sound manner.”
Interested parties are invited to provide input on this Report. Feedback can be submitted electronically, or to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Strategic Initiatives, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20219.
Link to Progress Report
The Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $5.8 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions. Additional information is available at www.FHFA.gov, on Twitter @FHFA, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Contacts:
Media: Corinne Russell (202) 649-3032 / Stefanie Johnson (202) 649-3030
Consumers: Consumer Communications or (202) 649-3811
Source: FHFA
