Dodd-Frank News Center

Latest Making Home Affordable Program Performance Report released

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Treasury Department has released the latest Making Home Affordable Program Performance Report, which provides information through the third quarter of 2017. The MHA Program closed to new applicants on Dec. 31, 2016, and servicers were required to design policies and procedures to reasonably ensure that all MHA transactions were completed by Dec. 1, 2017. Although the program is now closed, servicers will continue to perform certain functions. According to the report, more than 2.9 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place under MHA programs.

Latest Home Affordable Program Performance Report released

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                  

The Treasury Department has released the latest Making Home Affordable Program Servicer Performance Report, which contains detailed assessments of the performance of servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable program. Information about servicer performance is provided through two types of data: 1.) compliance data, which reflects servicer compliance with specific MHA guidelines; and 2.) program results data, which reflects how timely and effectively servicers assist eligible homeowners and report program activity.

Loudermilk and other Congress members express concerns over CFPB's data collection

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga) and several other Congress members have written a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray expressing serious concerns about the bureau's mass collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information on American citizens. The Congress members urged the bureau to stop collecting any sensitive consumer data until all relevant cybersecurity improvements have been implemented if it cannot confirm that all the sensitive data it is collecting is secure while it is implementing those recommendations.

The Congress members asked for answers to a number of questions on the bureau's data collection and cybersecurity measures.

In a statement, Loudermilk said, "At a time when many agencies are targets of foreign and domestic hackers, it is very troubling to learn that the CFPB has started yet another data collection program, which can include people's social media posts, utility payments, and other private information. The very agency that claims to protect consumers is actually putting millions at risk by collecting sensitive data that would result in significant harm to consumers if compromised."

Treasury Department releases FY 2016 ‘Citizens’ Report’

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Treasury Department's Office of Financial Stability has issued its "Citizens' Report for Fiscal Year 2016," which describes financial and performance results for the eighth year of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The report contains the comparative fiscal years 2016 and 2015 financial statements for TARP, the Government Accountability Office's auditor's report with the audit opinion on these financial statements, an opinion from the GAO on the OFS's internal control over financial reporting for TARP, and the results of the GAO's tests of the OFS's compliance with selected provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements applicable to the OFS.

The report also includes information on the status of TARP programs and on the structure and operational goals of the OFS, which was created to help implement TARP.

According to an introductory message from the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability, the OFS has made significant progress towards winding down TARP investments and is preparing to retire the largest TARP housing program, Making Home Affordable. He also said that more than 2.7 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the MHA program and that the Hardest Hit Fund has assisted approximately a quarter of a million American homeowners in preventing avoidable foreclosures. But in spite of these accomplishments and recent improvements in the economy, he said the recovery of the housing market remains uneven.

Enterprises to implement new refinance offering; HARP extended into 2017

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), at the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s direction, will implement a new refinance offering, starting in October 2017, aimed at borrowers with high loan-to-value ratios. According to the FHFA, this offering will provide much-needed liquidity for borrowers who are current on their mortgages but are unable to refinance through traditional programs because their LTV ratio exceeds the Enterprises' maximum limits. Specific eligibility requirements are listed in the agency's news release. The FHFA has also released a "Fannie Fact Sheet" and a "Freddie Fact Sheet" with information on the new refinance option as it pertains to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages.

To ensure that high LTV borrowers who are eligible for the Home Affordable Refinance Program will not be without a refinance option while the new refinance offering is being implemented, the FHFA is also directing the Enterprises to extend HARP through Sept. 30, 2017.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Issues Foreclosure Prevention Report

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued its latest Foreclosure Prevention Report. According to the report, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 16,208 foreclosure prevention actions in February 2016, bringing the total to 3,674,849 since the Enterprises were placed into conservatorship in September 2008. The FHFA also said that there were 10,095 permanent loan modifications in February, bringing the total to 1,918,846 since the start of the conservatorships.

GAO issues report on estimating future expenditures for MHA Program

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Government Accountability Office has issued a report entitled "TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM: Treasury Should Estimate Future Expenditures for the Making Home Affordable Program." The report examines the extent to which Treasury is reviewing unexpended balances and cost projections for the MHA program.

The GAO recommended that Treasury: (1) estimate future expenditures for the MHA program and any unexpended balances; and (2) deobligate funds that its review shows will likely not be expended and move up to $2 billion of such funds to the TARP-funded Hardest Hit Fund as authorized. In addition, the report said Congress should consider permanently rescinding any deobligated MHA funds that are not moved to the Hardest Hit Fund and make them available for other priorities.

The GAO said that Treasury agreed with its recommendations and indicated that it has updated its cost estimates and subsequently deobligated $2 billion of MHA funds on Feb. 25, 2016.

FHFA Refinance Report filed

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released its Refinance Report for the second quarter of 2015, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program accounted for 5 percent of all refinancings in the second quarter of 2015. More than 31,500 homeowners refinanced their mortgages through the HARP program in the second quarter of 2015, with more than 3.3 million loans refinanced since the inception of the program, the report notes. According to the FHFA, refinance volume increased slightly in June 2015 after falling in May. The report said that mortgage rates continued to rise in June, with the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage reaching 3.98 percent.

FHFA Refinance Report filed

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has released its May 2015 Refinance Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program accounted for 5 percent of all refinancings in May. According to the report, 10,419 homeowners refinanced their mortgages in May through the HARP program with more than 3.3 million loans refinanced since the inception of the program. According to the FHFA, refinance volume decreased in May but remained at levels above those observed in 2014. In addition, mortgage rates rose in May, with the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage reaching 3.84 percent.

SIGTARP issues report on increasing HAMP's effectiveness

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) has issued a report titled, "Treasury's Opportunity to Increase HAMP's Effectiveness by Reaching More Homeowners in States Underserved by HAMP." The report says that the Home Affordable Modification Program has struggled to reach the expected number of homeowners that Treasury envisioned for the program. The report asserts that Treasury must identify those areas where HAMP has underperformed and the barriers that have prevented homeowners in those areas from getting HAMP assistance. Then, Treasury must act to reduce or eliminate those barriers.