2019-06863. Credit Watch Termination Initiative Termination of Direct Endorsement (DE) Approval

AGENCY:

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice advises of the cause and effect of termination of Direct Endorsement (DE) approval taken by HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) against HUD-approved mortgagees through the FHA Credit Watch Termination Initiative. This notice includes a list of mortgagees that have had their DE Approval terminated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Quality Assurance Division, Office of Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW, Room B133-P3214, Washington, DC 20410-8000; telephone [phone] (this is not a toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access that number through TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

HUD has the authority to address deficiencies in the performance of lenders' loans as provided in HUD's mortgagee approval regulations at 24 CFR 202.3. On May 17, 1999, HUD published a notice (64 FR 26769) on its procedures for terminating Origination Approval Agreements with FHA lenders and placement of FHA lenders on Credit Watch status (an evaluation period). In the notice, HUD advised that it would publish in the Federal Register a list of mortgagees that have had their Approval Agreements terminated. HUD Handbook 4000.1 section V.E.3.a.iii outlines current procedures for terminating Underwriting Authority of Direct Endorsement mortgagees.

Termination of Direct Endorsement Approval: HUD approval of a DE mortgagee authorizes the mortgagee to underwrite single family mortgage loans and submit them to FHA for insurance endorsement. The approval may be terminated on the basis of poor performance of FHA-insured mortgage loans underwritten by the mortgagee. The termination of a mortgagee's DE Approval is separate and apart from any action taken by HUD's Mortgagee Review Board under HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 25.

Cause: HUD regulations permit HUD to terminate the DE Approval of any mortgagee having a default and claim rate for loans endorsed within the preceding 24 months that exceeds 200 percent of the default and claim rate within the geographic area served by a HUD field office, and that exceeds the national default and claim rate.

Effect: Termination of DE Approval precludes the mortgagee from underwriting FHA-insured single-family mortgages within the HUD field office jurisdiction(s) listed in this notice. Mortgagees authorized to hold or service FHA-insured mortgages may continue to do so.

Loans that closed or were approved before the termination became effective may be submitted for insurance endorsement. Approved loans are those already underwritten and approved by a DE underwriter and cases covered by a firm commitment issued by HUD. Cases at earlier stages of processing cannot be submitted for insurance by the terminated mortgagee; however, the cases may be transferred for completion of processing and underwriting to another mortgagee with DE Approval in that geographic area. Mortgagees must continue to pay existing insurance premiums and meet all other obligations associated with insured mortgages.

A terminated mortgagee may apply for reinstatement if their DE Approval in the affected area or areas has been terminated for at least six months and the mortgagee continues to be an approved mortgagee meeting the requirements of 24 CFR 202.5, 202.6, 202.7, 202.10 and 202.12. The mortgagee's application for reinstatement must be in a format prescribed by the Secretary and signed by the mortgagee. In addition, the application must be accompanied by an independent analysis of the terminated office's operations as well as its mortgage production, specifically including the FHA-insured mortgages cited in its termination notice. This independent analysis shall identify the underlying cause for the mortgagee's high default and claim rate. The analysis must be prepared by an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualified to perform audits under Government Auditing Standards as provided by the Government Accountability Office. The mortgagee must also submit a written corrective action plan to address each of the issues identified in the CPA's report, along with evidence that the plan has been implemented. The application for reinstatement must be submitted through the Lender Electronic Assessment Portal (LEAP). The application must be accompanied by the CPA's report and the corrective action plan.

Action: The following mortgagees have had their DE Approval terminated by HUD:

Mortgagee name	Mortgagee home office address	HUD office jurisdiction	Termination effective date	Homeownership center
First Hallmark Mortgage Corporation	1 Executive Drive, Suite 130, Somerset, NJ 08873-4002	Newark	7/19/16	Philadelphia.
CityWorth Mortgage LLC	11781 Lee Jackson, Memorial Highway, Fairfax, VA 22033	Philadelphia	5/1/18	Philadelphia.

Dated: March 28, 2019.

Brian Montgomery,

Assistant Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing Commissioner.