Thursday, June 18, 2009

"Demand for FHA Loans Is Overtaxing Agency"

From Bloomberg (emphasis added):

“FHA will be challenged to handle its expanded workload or new programs that require the agency to take on riskier loans than it historically has had in its portfolio,” Kenneth Donohue, the inspector general for the Housing and Urban Development Department, told lawmakers today. “The surge in FHA loans is likely to overtax the oversight resources of FHA, making careful and comprehensive lender monitoring difficult.
...
The freeze in the mortgage markets has driven FHA’s market share to 63 percent this year, from 24 percent in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30
...
FHA has historically been most vulnerable to fraud and exploitation when loan volume is high, Donohue said. He said that Ginnie Mae, the government agency that insures mortgage bonds backed by FHA loans, is also at risk.
....
Donohue said the rise of mortgage fraud among FHA lenders has depleted
FHA’s mortgage insurance fund, which has fallen to $12.9 billion, or 2 percent
of all insured assets as of Sept. 30, from $21 billion, or 6.4 percent of assets
a year earlier.
...


I guess increasing underwriting standards, insurance premiums, oversight and down payment size would be too easy of an answer. Instead the taxpayers have to pay?

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