“While the economy has a long way to go to reach full recovery, and the promising indicators emerging steadily are not being experienced by all regions or communities equally, it is clear that we have pulled back from the economic abyss on which the nation stood a year ago,” said Shaun Donovan, Secretary of U.S. [...]

The Federal Housing Administration’s latest Outlook Report shows that reverse mortgage applications continue to slide. In January, the agency reported it received 5,805 applications for reverse mortgages (HECM), down 16.2% from the prior month and 54.2% lower than the same period in 2009. Reverse mortgage applications weren’t the only product showing a decrease in volume. [...]

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development is planning to give mortgage bankers additional time to adjust their net worth requirements to $2.5 million says National Mortgage News. During a legislative conference sponsored by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, Federal Housing Administration assistant Secretary Vicki Bott told attendees HUD is preparing to issue [...]

Golden Gateway Financial continues to expand its partnerships with credit unions with the addition of Patelco Credit Union, USA Fed, and Grossmont Schools Federal Credit Union. Each of the credit unions chose Golden Gateway as their exclusive provider of reverse mortgage information, tools and products said a company statement.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) released an updated edition of its white paper on mortgage fraud detection and deterrence. The Detection and Deterrence of Mortgage Fraud Against Financial Institutions: 2009 Mortgage Fraud White Paper is meant to help examiners understand, identify, and detect mortgage fraud schemes and elements. New to the white paper [...]

Florida Senator Mike Fasano recently introduced Senate Bill 1532 to provide specific requirements for reverse mortgage loans.  According to the bill analysis, the provisions proposed would impact proprietary reverse mortgage programs not following the HECM provisions (e.g., disclosure and counseling).  Fasano told Tampa Bay Online "My primary concern is that not one senior citizen be [...]