This week I head to San Diego for MCT Exchange 2025, and my email has been heating up. “Rob, are you hearing about a big jump in lock volume last week?” Yes… it may not be just you. As they say, a rising tide raises all boats. “Rob, are you hearing about an uptick in FHA delinquencies?” Yes, absolutely, and for quite some time. These high margin, low down payment loans are seeing an increase in problems. “Rob, are you hearing that the CFPB is back up and running?” Yes, at least parts of it: regs, monitoring, the complaint function; less so supervision and enforcement. Speaking of which, Mortgage Musings author and attorney Brian Levy hopes someone gets his message in a bottle with his latest Musing doubling as an open letter to CFPB leadership containing many suggestions for mortgage regulatory reform. “Rob, are you hearing that LOs need videos to reach millennial home buyers?” Perhaps… I know that in today’s Mortgages for Millennials, Kristin Messerli and Robbie Chrisman are joined by guest Ralph Remy of National MI: “Trust in financial institutions is plummeting, and YouTube has emerged as the go-to platform for homebuying education.” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by ICE. ICE offers an interconnected digital mortgage ecosystem to help clients improve productivity, reduce costs, and deliver a meaningful customer experience. Today’s has an Interview with TRUE’s Steve Butler on how instant loan intelligence is revolutionizing borrower engagement. Lenders who fail to adopt AI-driven processes risk becoming obsolete.)
Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services
“Spring EQ’s Correspondent team will be at the MBA Secondary & Capital Markets Conference in New York City, May 19-20, and we’d love to connect! We’ll have a private conference room at the Sanctuary Hotel, just a quick walk from the event, where we’re ready to talk home equity solutions, including our fixed-rate home equity loans, adjustable-rate lines of credit, and exclusive FIXLINE, a fixed-rate HELOC solution. Let’s chat about how our innovative products can help you grow your business. Spots are filling fast, so secure a meeting spot with our team today!”
Announcing: QC Ally is proudly SOC 2 Certified, reinforcing the company’s commitment to security, compliance, and trust in mortgage quality control. This milestone ensures that the 100% U.S.-based team upholds the highest industry standards for data protection, risk management, and operational excellence. As a trusted partner for mortgage lenders, servicers, and financial institutions, QC Ally provides solutions that help lenders stay compliant and mitigate risk with confidence. With this certification, lenders can trust that QC Ally prioritizes the security of their data while delivering top-tier quality control services. Learn more in the official press release.
“PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending, a subsidiary of Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH), understands the importance of efficiency when it comes to meeting mortgage lenders funding requests. ‘Express Funding’ is how we help our customers reduce the time needed to get loans funded quickly. Express Funding allows our customers to submit multiple loans for funding in one simple data upload, whether it is one loan or 100 loans. We have a growing list of 5,000+ approved closing agents, No Doc funding requirements and funding turn times averaging under 20 minutes! As a well-capitalized financially strong banking partner we give our customers confidence in an uncertain market. If you are interested in learning more about PlainsCapital Bank National Warehouse Lending please contact Deric Barnett (469-955-6786).”
I’m gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse. One login. Three powerhouse tools. The LenderLogix Mortgage Suite brings together LiteSpeed for borrower intake, QuickQual for instant pre-approvals, and Fee Chaser for automated upfront fee collection, all fully integrated with Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology™. It's a streamlined, borrower-friendly experience backed by a team you'll know by name. Book a demo with the team to see how it works.
Misi-ziibi is the Ojibwe word describing the "great river" or "gathering of waters” we now commonly call the Mississippi River. Down Payment Resource, the Great River of all things DPA, is casting off soon for the Great River MBA Conference 25, April 1-3, to catch up on fast-flowing industry happenings, partake in some local hooch and meet with its lenders from Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and neighboring states. (Yes, there is a whiskey tasting involved!) DPR will be “fluid” at this event, with no official booth or presentation, but can demo its Encompass® integration (a huge splash at ICE Experience and TMC!) for those hoping to join the DPA current. Or, if you prefer, book a meeting now with VP of Sales and Business Development Brad Cardwell.
In the mortgage industry ensuring proactive risk management and steadfast compliance is essential to your business’s foundation. To best protect your business, lenders should have a robust and effective risk management system, including 3 lines of defense. Each mortgage lending business unit is the first line of defense, where operational controls are established and maintained. Next comes the second line of defense from the quality control and compliance department. The third line of defense is an internal audit that will assess the effectiveness of the first and second lines of defense through independent testing. Why is this important? An effective internal audit will help you better understand what is really going on in your operation, so you can make more informed decisions and operate more effectively while minimizing your risk. It is also required to apply for or maintain Fannie Mae approval. Tune into Richey May’s Internal Audit Insight video series to learn more.
KensieMae has expanded its strategic partnership with MeridianLink®, a leading provider of modern software platforms for financial institutions. This broadened partnership enhances lending solutions, process automation, user experience, and services with KensieMae's Infinity Solutions™ for MeridianLink. The Infinity platform provides set-it-and-forget-it automation for processes such as FEMA automation, automated emails and notifications, SMS communication, loan-level field updates, address verification, round-robin file assignments, a payment gateway, and much more. Whether you're a lender or emerging banker migrating to MeridianLink Mortgage or adding a new business channel like TPO, an IMB, Credit Union or Bank looking for an operational or system overhaul to gain efficiency and reduce your cost per closed loan, or a provider looking to integrate, we have you covered! Check out the full press release here and find out what KensieMae can do for you!
Deeper customer relationships are built on two things: first, equipping your customers to answer their most pressing loan questions on their own. And second, providing them with a meaningful and positive experience when they reach out to your call center for support. ICE provides self-service digital tools that help homeowners manage day-to-day loan maintenance with ease, while providing servicers with advanced call prediction models to help your agents have meaningful conversations with your customers and resolve more issues in a single call. EVP of Servicing Technology Product Innovation Sandra Madigan explores how ICE’s tools work in tandem to enhance the customer experience for customers and agents alike.
FHA, HUD, and USDA Changes
FHA Eases Flood Elevation Rules to Boost Housing Supply and Affordability. The FHA has temporarily waived its recent rule for new residential construction adopted on April 23, 2024, requiring that the lowest structural member of the lowest floor be at least two feet above the base flood elevation.
The VA home loan is a lifetime benefit for Veterans and provides a number of advantages when buying a home, including: no downpayment necessary, competitive interest rates, and limited closing costs. Learn more about this valuable benefit.
Register for the FHA Servicing quality assurance update, virtual webinar on March 26, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM. This webinar provides Federal Housing Administration (FHA) quality assurance results for calendar year 2024. It will focus on top findings from loan-level servicing and lender-level operational reviews. The webinar concludes with a live question and answer session. Eastern time zones apply to this webinar.
A new post from Compliance regarding HUD’s announcing Rescission of Multiple Appraisal Policy Mortgagee Letters.
FHA published Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2025-08, Rescinding Multiple Appraisal Policy Related Mortgagee Letters, to immediately rescind the policy guidance published in the following MLs: ML 2024-16, Extension to the Effective Date of Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value (ROV) Updates, dated August 6, 2024; ML 2024-07, Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value, dated May 1, 2024; and ML 2021-27, Appraisal Fair Housing Compliance and Updated General Appraiser Requirements, dated November 17, 2021. The provisions of this ML are effective immediately and will be incorporated into a future version of Handbook 4000.1.
USDA Rural Development issued a bulletin announcing The Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program’s (SFHGLP) immediate termination of the temporary authority originally communicated on April 29, 2022. The authority allowed some non-U.S. Citizens to be eligible to apply for a guaranteed loan. As of March 18, 2025, the temporary authority is no longer valid. Updates to Chapter 8 of Handbook 1-3555 are forthcoming. In addition, USDA is posting a Job Aid to help assist you in determining eligibility on the USDA LINC Training and Resource Library.
Pennymac Announcement 25-30: USDA Retraction of Non-U.S. Citizen Eligibility.
AmeriHome addressed USDA’s immediate suspension of the temporary waiver that allowed some non-U.S. citizens to be eligible to apply for a USDA guaranteed loan. For all USDA Mortgage Loan transactions, subject to the aforementioned temporary waiver, if a Conditional Commitment was issued and all conditions were fulfilled prior to March 18, 2025, the loan is eligible for delivery to AmeriHome. Sellers must include a copy of the Loan Note Guarantee (LNG) in the Mortgage Loan file at the time of delivery. USDA Mortgage Loan transactions delivered to AmeriHome with conditional commitments issued on or after March 18, 2025, must meet the new eligibility requirements. Details are available in AmeriHome 20250308-CL Product Announcement.
FHA’s Mortgagee Letter 2025-08 rescinded previously announced Reconsideration of Value (ROV) appraisal requirements and removing all guidance regarding borrower-initiated ROV. See AmeriHome 20250309-CL Product Announcement for details. The FHA rescission removed all guidance regarding borrower-initiated ROV. AmeriHome adopts this change in the timeline provided. There are no impacts to AmeriHome FHA Program Guides.
Effective for all FHA, VA, and USDA Loans (Government Loans) purchased by AmeriHome on and after May 1, 2025, AmeriHome is transitioning its sub-servicing provider from Cenlar to ServiceMac, LLC. Information is available in AmeriHome Mortgage 20250305-CL Product Announcement.
Capital Markets
Market sentiment fluctuated yesterday amid concerns over upcoming reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on April 2, with reports suggesting they may be applied more selectively. Treasuries initially extended their losses after the release of the S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI, which dropped into contractionary territory. However, the U.S. Services PMI indicated an acceleration in growth. Adding pressure to Treasury yields was a surge in government bond supply, with $211 billion in month-end issuances occurring today to Thursday, alongside significant corporate debt issuance. As a result, Treasuries sold off yesterday and the 10-year Treasury yield hit 4.33 percent by late morning after a stronger-than-expected March services PMI report further fueled concerns over the Fed’s rate path.
Looking forward to the rest of the week, economic growth for the fourth quarter of last year may be revised downward in the third GDP estimate, primarily due to a likely reduction in services spending. Household incomes and consumer spending appeared to have risen modestly in February, while inflation, as measured by the PCE indices, likely slowed. The goods trade balance likely remained near January’s record low, potentially influenced by businesses front-running impending tariffs. Housing market data for January is expected to show a slower pace of price increases, keeping annual growth in the mid-single digits. Consumer confidence surveys for March are projected to reflect further declines, signaling growing caution among households.
Today sees a full economic calendar which kicked off with Philly Fed non-manufacturing indexes for March: -13 prior, now -32, a huge drop. Later today brings January home prices indexes from FHFA and S&P/Case-Shiller, March consumer confidence, February new home sales, Richmond Fed manufacturing and services indexes for March, the first leg of the month-end Treasury supply when $69 billion of 2-year notes are auctioned, and two Fed appearances are scheduled: Governor Kugler and New York president Williams. We begin Tuesday with Agency MBS prices worse than Monday night by about .125, the 2-year yielding 4.05, and the 10-year yielding 4.36 after closing yesterday at 4.33 percent.
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