Cassidy
said
that
since
taking
on
his
role
as

FHA
commissioner,
he
has
focused
on
streamlining
operations
at
the
agency
and
reducing
what
he
described
as
bureaucratic
barriers
for
lenders
and
servicers.

“We’ve
been
focused
on
making
FHA
more
efficient,
making
it
easier
for
lenders,
for
servicers,
to
do
business
with
FHA,”
Cassidy
said.

On
his
first
day,
he
said,
the
agency
revised
its

loss-mitigation
waterfall,
a
move
Cassidy
said
is
projected
to
save
the

FHA
insurance
fund
roughly
$2
billion
over
the
next
decade.

“There’s
been
so
much
bureaucratic
red
tape
that’s
been
put
in
place
over
the
years,”
he
said.
“We’re
focused
on
identifying
areas
within
all
FHA
loan
programs
where
we
can
pull
that
back,
so
that
doing
business
with
FHA
is
easier
and
more
streamlined.”

Cassidy
said
the
agency
is
closely
monitoring
early
and
serious

delinquencies
following
the
policy
change.
While
there
has
been
a
“slight
uptick”
as
the
new
framework
takes
effect,
he
said
the
agency
expects
these
numbers
to
moderate
over
time.

Balancing
FHA’s
housing
mission
with
the
long-term
health
of
its
Mutual
Mortgage
Insurance
fund
remains
central,
he
added.
The
fund’s
capital
ratio
stood
at
11.47%
—
nearly
five
times
higher
than
its
statutory
minimum
requirement
—
in
the
agency’s
most
recent
annual
report.

“We
want
to
advance
the
mission,
but
we
ultimately
want
to
be
stewards
of
the
FHA
program,”
Cassidy
said.

Gormley
said
affordability
remains
a
top
priority
at
Ginnie
Mae,
noting
that
the
agency
supports
FHA
and
VA
programs
that
serve

first-time
homebuyers,
along
with
rural
and
tribal
housing
initiatives.

The
agency’s
guaranteed
portfolio
recently
surpassed
$2.9
trillion
and
could
exceed
$3
trillion
later
this
year,
he
said.

Among

Ginnie
Mae’s
key
initiatives
is
a
transition
toward
more
frequent
liquidation
event
reporting.
Previously
reported
monthly,
such
events
will
now
be
reported
daily,
a
move
Gormley
said
will
strengthen
operational
resiliency
and
allow
for
more
timely
disclosures
to
investors.

Ginnie
Mae
is
also
pursuing
what
Gormley
described
as
its
“No.
1
initiative,”
a
shift
toward
a
loan-level
operating
model.

Since
issuing
its
first
mortgage-backed
security
in
1970,
the
agency
has
operated
at
the
pool
level.
The
proposed
change
would
allow
issuers
to
sell
individual
loans
to
one
another,
subject
to
appropriate
legal
and
policy
guardrails.

“At
its
very
core,
what
I
would
tell
you
is
it’s
just
going
to
simplify
the
ability
for
issuers
to
sell
individual
loans
to
each
other,”
Gormley
said.

The
agency
is
currently
assessing
system,
legal
and
policy
changes
needed
to
support
that
transition.

He
added
that
transparency
in

MBS
disclosures
and
expanded
investor
education
—
both
domestically
and
abroad
—
are
also
priorities.

“The
more
investors
we
have
in
the
program,
that’s
going
to
drive
affordability,”
Gormley
said.

Zondervan
told
the
audience
that
the

VA’s
top
priority
is
implementing
newly
granted
authority
to
establish
a

partial
claims
program
for
distressed
borrowers.

The
law
allows
the
agency
to
move
forward
with
policy
ahead
of
formal
rulemaking.
The
VA
is
developing
guidance
and
plans
to
brief
congressional
leaders
before
engaging
servicers
and
other
industry
participants.

“That’s
coming
real
soon,”
Zondervan
said,
but
he
did
not
specify
a
date.

The
agency
is
also
emphasizing
veteran

education
about
the
VA
home
loan
benefit,
along
with
financial
literacy
and
training
for
lenders,
servicers
and
real
estate
agents.

Zondervan
said
success
this
year
would
include
timely
implementation
of
the
partial
claims
program,
increased
VA
market
share
—
currently
about
11%
to
12%
—
and
improvements
in
technology
used
to
interface
with
stakeholders.