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HUD, FHFA Extend Foreclosure Protections for Hurricane Sandy Victims
On January 31, HUD and the FHFA announced that the FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac will extend for an additional 90 days protections against foreclosure actions for borrowers whose properties were damaged or destroyed due to Hurricane Sandy. Those protections were set to expire on January 31, 2013. For borrowers in certain counties, FHA is extending until April 30, 2013 its foreclosure moratorium and eviction suspension. Fannie Mae, through Lender Letter LL-2013-02, and Freddie Mac, through Bulletin 2013-1, also are extending their foreclosure and eviction moratoriums through the end of April.
Freddie Mac Offers Flexibility for Certain Selling Guide Verification Requirements
On December 14, Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2012-28 (Bulletin), which provides sellers more flexibility with regard to certain required verifications. Under the new policy, Freddie Mac will (i) allow sellers to obtain a verbal verification of employment or a verification of existence of the business, as applicable, after the note date, provided the verifications are obtained prior to the delivery date, and (ii) provide additional options for sellers when documenting the terms of secondary financing, the fees and costs paid in connection with secondary financing and the evidence of subordination of secondary financing to the first lien. The Bulletin also (i) clarifies condominium project review and eligibility requirements, (ii) updates the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) to reflect the new property valuation requirements for Relief Refinance Mortgages℠ secured by properties affected by disasters, (iii) reminds sellers and servicers about base conforming loan limits and high-cost area loan limits for 2013, and (iv) reminds sellers and servicers who use the services of a warehouse lender that Freddie Mac may refuse to fund or delay funding if the warehouse lender has not submitted acceptable documentation as required in Guide Chapter 19.
Freddie Mac Supplements Storm Relief Guidance
On December 18, Freddie Mac updated its disaster relief policies through Bulletin 2012-29 (Bulletin). Effective immediately, but only temporarily, servicers must perform one interior disaster-related property inspection for delinquent mortgages secured by properties in eligible disaster areas that have been identified as abandoned as of, or prior to the date of the area being declared an eligible disaster area. Freddie Mac will reimburse servicers up to $20 per property for the additional costs associated with completing the interior inspections. For mortgages secured by properties located in eligible disaster areas, which were reported as current in the most recent reporting cycle just prior to the area being declared an eligible disaster area, Freddie Mac will reimburse servicers up to $10 per property for one exterior property inspection related to the disaster. The Bulletin also provides instructions regarding forbearance plans for borrowers who are or were in approved or active trial period plans and whose property or places of employment are located in an eligible Hurricane Sandy disaster area.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Announce Next Phase of ULDD
On December 13, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac published the Phase 2 Specification for the Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD), the common set of data elements required by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for single-family loan deliveries as part of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program, an initiative announced in May 2010 to improve appraisal quality and other loan information. The Phase 2 ULDD specification contains a total of 19 joint data points, of which 15 of which were optional for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of the Phase 1 ULDD specification, one data point that was conditionally required for Freddie Mac and optional for Fannie Mae, and three new data points. Lenders must begin collecting the Phase 2 data points for all loans with application received dates on or after March 1, 2014, for loans delivered on or after August 25, 2014.
Key Stakeholders Comment on FHFA State-Level Guarantee Fee Pricing Proposal
Over the past week, key stakeholders submitted comments on the FHFA’s proposal regarding state-level guarantee fees, which would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to charge higher upfront fees for single-family mortgages originated in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. The FHFA argues that the higher fees are needed to offset higher default-related costs incurred by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in those states resulting in part from state and local foreclosure policies. Senators from four of those states sent a letter on November 21, 2012 asking the FHFA to abandon the proposal in its entirety, citing shortcomings in the proposal and negative impacts on borrowers in those states. The senators argued that the proposal would penalize borrowers in states with higher consumer protections and would undermine those protections and restrict residential lending. The Attorneys General of Illinois, Connecticut, and New York similarly objected to the proposal in a November 26, 2012 letter. Also on November 26, 2012, the ABA submitted a letter in support of the increased fees in which it pointed out that the fees would be modest and argued that the fees would help to spur state and local policymakers to reform foreclosure processes. On the same day, the MBA submitted a letter seeking more information about the formula used by the FHFA to determine which states should be assessed the higher fees and urging the FHFA to (i) expand the proposal to reward states with lower default-related costs, (ii) change the format of the proposed pricing to more closely match industry practice, and (iii) alter its approach to compensatory fees charged to servicers for unavoidable foreclosure delays. The FHFA received numerous other comment letters.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Announce New Guidelines for Management of Law Firms
On November 9, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced new, coordinated requirements with respect to the management of law firms for default servicing, bankruptcies, and related litigation. As described in Freddie Mac Bulletin 2012-25, effective June 1, 2013, servicers (i) will be permitted to choose their own attorneys, create their own processes for managing foreclosure processing, and maintain direct relationships with their law firms, (ii) will be required to establish procedures to manage and monitor all aspects of the law firm's performance and compliance with applicable requirements, and (iii) upon request, will be required to perform a due diligence review and provide Freddie Mac with the results. Fannie Mae Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2012-22 similarly details new servicer requirements with regard to the use of outside law firms. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will accept and respond to servicer recommendations of law firms beginning March 1, 2013, and will begin conducting new firm training in April 2013. Law firms that are currently in the retained attorney network are not exempt from the new selection and retention processes.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Announce Additional Storm Relief Measures
On November 9, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that effective immediately servicers can suspend for 90 days evictions and foreclosures involving borrowers affected by Hurricane Sandy in order to assess the borrowers’ situations. In addition, next week Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will issue guidance to servicers to expand the options they can offer to homeowners impacted by the hurricane. Under the new Fannie Mae guidance, servicers will be authorized to (i) extend forbearance for up to 12 months, where appropriate, (ii) provide loan modifications, once the homeowner is able to resume monthly mortgage payments, (iii) waive any late payment charges, (iv) suspend credit reporting for any homeowner for whom relief is granted, and (v) delay the initiation of any foreclosure action to determine the condition of the property and the borrower’s employment and income status. Freddie Mac’s policy changes will authorize servicers to (i) automatically suspend for 90 days evictions and foreclosure sales for borrowers with homes secured by Freddie Mac owned-or guaranteed mortgages and located in eligible disaster areas, (ii) verbally grant 90-day forbearances to all borrowers in eligible disaster areas, including borrowers with mortgages modified under HAMP or who are currently in a HAMP or Standard Modification Trial Period Plan, and (iii) expedite the distribution of insurance proceeds on storm damage claims. Additionally, Freddie Mac will maintain pricing that was in place at the time of the storm for mortgages that are secured by homes in eligible disaster areas and delivered through Freddie Mac's bulk guarantor channel.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Issue Disaster Assistance Reminders for Servicers, Announce Disaster Policy Changes for Sellers
On October 31, Fannie Mae issued a servicing notice to remind servicers that they may temporarily suspend or reduce mortgage payments for up to ninety days for borrowers whose income is affected by a disaster or for borrowers within federally declared disaster areas. The notice also lists the steps a servicer providing relief measures must take once it becomes aware that a property has incurred damage as a result of a disaster. On November 1, Fannie Mae issued Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2012-12, which establishes a permanent selling policy for mortgages impacted by a disaster. This policy replaces Fannie Mae’s traditional approach of issuing Lender Letters for each disaster. Under the new policy, for mortgage loans other than DU Refi Plus and Refi Plus, lenders must take prudent and reasonable actions to determine whether the condition of the property may have materially changed since the effective date of the appraisal report, and whether an additional inspection or appraisal is necessary. The Announcement identifies specific criteria lenders should use when determining if a mortgage can be delivered without additional action. Fannie Mae will not require a property secured by a DU Refi Plus or Refi Plus mortgage to undergo an additional inspection and/or new appraisal following a disaster, and will not require that a property damaged as a result of a disaster be repaired prior to delivery as long as the loan meets the property insurance requirements described in the Selling Guide.
On October 30, Freddie Mac announced that its full menu of relief policies for borrowers affected by disaster is being extended to homeowners whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy and are located in jurisdictions that the President has declared to be Major Disaster Areas and where he has made federal Individual Assistance programs available to affected individuals and households. Freddie Mac encouraged servicers to help affected borrowers with Freddie Mac loans by (i) suspending foreclosure and eviction proceedings for up to 12 months, (ii) waiving assessments of penalties or late fees against borrowers with disaster-damaged homes, and (iii) not reporting forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to the nation's credit bureaus. On November 2, Freddie Mac issued Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Bulletin 2012-24 to revise selling requirements for properties damaged as a result of a disaster. The Bulletin explains that, on a temporary basis for mortgages secured by properties located in eligible Disaster Areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy, required property valuation and underwriting documentation must be dated no more than 180 days before the note date. For Relief Refinance Mortgages, sellers are not required to determine if an additional property inspection or a new appraisal is necessary after an initial property valuation has been relied upon, provided that the mortgage meets property insurance requirements.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Announce Short Sale Agreements with Mortgage Insurers; Freddie Mac Announces Other Servicing Updates
On October 31, Fannie Mae announced that it reached agreements with nine major mortgage insurance companies that will allow servicers to complete short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure without first obtaining approval from the mortgage insurer. The new standard delegation agreement executed with each of the mortgage insurers replaces various individual delegation agreements and is intended to create a more consistent and efficient process for borrowers and servicers.
On the same day, Freddie Mac issued Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Bulletin 2012-23, which also announced new delegation agreements with its mortgage insurers that will streamline short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. Freddie Mac revised other requirements for servicers’ loss mitigation activities and updated its mortgage insurance claim documentation policy to require delivery of documentation no later than sixty days following the foreclosure sale, short sale, or acceptance of deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. The Bulletin also (i) requires approval by Freddie Mac of foreclosures in certain circumstances, (ii) revises imminent default documentation requirements, (iii) authorizes use of ACH for expense reimbursements and incentive payments, (iv) clarifies the policy for reimbursement of interest, and (v) updates charge-off recommendation requirements.
DOJ Files First Civil Fraud Suit Alleging False Claims Act And FIRREA Violations In The Sale Of Loans To Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac
On October 24, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) filed a $1 billion civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against a mortgage lender and a major financial institution in connection with loans sold to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Filed as a complaint-in-intervention in a pending qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuit, the complaint alleges that the mortgage lender engaged in a scheme to defraud the GSEs in connection with the mortgage loans it sold to them, and that the financial institution that later acquired the lender was aware of and continued the misconduct. The suit seeks damages and penalties under the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA). This is the first civil suit brought by the Department of Justice concerning mortgages sold to the GSEs, and indicates that the government might commence other suits based on the sale of conventional mortgages to those entities.
The government’s allegations focus on a loan origination system initiated by the lender in 2006 that allegedly eliminated checkpoints on loan quality and led to fraud and other defects in the loans. The complaint alleges that the lender and the financial institution sold these loans to the GSEs but misrepresented that the loans complied with GSE requirements. The GSEs pooled the loans into mortgage backed securities and sold them to investors, subject to guarantees on principal and interest payments. As the allegedly defective loans defaulted, the GSEs suffered over $1 billion in losses through the payment of guarantees to investors.
These allegations set forth a theory of liability that the government had not previously articulated. Previous cases brought by the government primarily involved loans made by government program participants and alleged misrepresentations made directly to government agencies, whereas the complaint in this case is based on conventional loans and alleged misrepresentations to the GSEs. Moreover, unlike previous cases, defendants did not receive federal funds directly from the government, but rather only may have received such funds indirectly based on the government’s funding of the GSEs.
In addition, the complaint also represents another use by the government of FIRREA. Here, FIRREA is used to pursue the alleged profits made by defendants from the challenged loan origination system. See “Understanding FIRREA’s Reach: When Does Fraud ‘Affect’ a Financial Institution.” The case also marks yet another financial fraud qui tam action filed in New York. Both the FCA and FIRREA provide substantial rewards for whistleblowers and the government’s relatively quick decision to intervene, along with its fast response in other recent matters, may encourage other such suits in the SDNY. See “Whistle-Blower Bounties May Encourage Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Fraud Reporting.”
In short, this action is another example of the government’s increasingly aggressive efforts to recoup losses stemming from the financial meltdown, as well as a reminder of the significance of the whistleblower provisions in both the FCA and FIRREA. Most importantly, it is a clear sign that government loan program participants are no longer the only targets for financial fraud recovery, and that the government may challenge the conduct of any lender who sold loans to the GSEs.