The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its annual report to Congress Monday on the financial condition of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund. The independent actuarial report shows that FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF) has improved going from a negative value to a growth of $21 billion within two years. Read a comprehensive summary of the report.
The Fund gained nearly $6 billion in value over the last year and now stands at $4.8 billion. The current capital ratio is .41 percent. Improvement in the Fund is a result of aggressive policy actions that have led to better portfolio performance including delinquency rates dropping 14 percent and recovery rates improving by 16 percent since last year.
“This year’s report shows that the fundamentals of the Fund are strong,” said HUD Secretary Juliàn Castro. “Over the past five years, FHA has taken a number of prudent actions to restore the Fund’s fiscal health. This is positive news for the economy and the millions of American families that count on FHA.”
Following the housing crisis, FHA took a number of steps including changes to underwriting standards, loss mitigation policies, recovery strategies and premium levels. All of these actions combined have led to the results seen today.
“Improving the performance of the Fund by $21 billion in two years is good news for the housing market,” said Acting FHA Commissioner Biniam Gebre. “FHA will continue to focus on meeting its mission of creating responsible access, investing in our economy and preserving pathways to the middle class. We remain dedicated to giving more hard-working responsible families the chance to buy a home and not a returning to the days of reckless lending that caused so much pain for middle-class families and the economy.”
Across a number of measures, the portfolio has seen significant improvements, including:
- $40 Billion in available cash reserves
- $10 Billion of additional economic value added each year
- 30% drop in seriously delinquent rates
- 68% Improvement in recovery rates
- 63% Reduction in foreclosure starts
- 85% Drop in early payment defaults
The report makes clear that the steps this Administration has taken to improve the health of the Fund are taking hold. As the Fund has improved, FHA has been able to focus on helping responsible families get a loan in today’s tight lending environment. FHA will continue to execute on the policies that have supported both the turnaround in the Fund and an appropriate expansion of credit access to the underserved.
Read more information on the report here.
