[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 7 (Monday, January 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1754-1756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-509]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4513-N-14]


Credit Watch Termination Initiative

AGENCY: Office of Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises of the cause and effect of termination of 
Origination Approval Agreements taken by HUD's Federal Housing 
Administration against HUD-approved mortgagees through its Credit Watch 
Termination Initiative. This notice

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includes a list of mortgagees which have had their Origination Approval 
Agreements (Agreements) terminated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Quality Assurance Division, Office 
of Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
St., SW., Room B133-P3214, Washington, DC 20410-8000; telephone (202) 
708-2830 (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 (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD has the authority to address 
deficiencies in the performance of lenders' loans as provided in the 
HUD mortgagee approval regulations at 24 CFR 202.3. On May 17, 1999 (64 
FR 26769), HUD published a notice 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 May 17, 
1999 notice, HUD advised that it would publish in the Federal Register 
a list of mortgagees which have had their Origination Approval 
Agreements terminated.
    Termination of Origination Approval Agreement: Approval of a 
mortgagee by HUD/FHA to participate in FHA mortgage insurance programs 
includes an Agreement between HUD and the mortgagee. Under the 
Agreement, the mortgagee is authorized to originate single-family 
mortgage loans and submit them to FHA for insurance endorsement. The 
Agreement may be terminated on the basis of poor performance of FHA-
insured mortgage loans originated by the mortgagee. The Termination of 
a mortgagee's Agreement is separate and apart from any action taken by 
HUD's Mortgagee Review Board under HUD's regulations at 24 CFR part 25.
    Cause: HUD's regulations permit HUD to terminate the Agreement with 
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 
also exceeds the national default and claim rate. For the sixteenth 
review period, HUD is only terminating the Agreement of mortgagees 
whose default and claim rate exceeds both the national rate and 225 
percent of the field office rate.
    Effect: Termination of the Agreement precludes a branch or branches 
of the mortgagee from originating FHA-insured single family mortgages 
within the area of the HUD field office(s) listed in this notice. 
Mortgagees authorized to purchase, 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 (1) those already underwritten and approved by a Direct Endorsement 
(DE) underwriter employed by an unconditionally approved DE lender and 
(2) cases covered by a firm commitment issued by HUD. Cases at earlier 
stages of processing cannot be submitted for insurance by the 
terminated branch; however, they may be transferred for completion of 
processing and underwriting to another mortgagee or branch authorized 
to originate FHA insured mortgages in that area. Mortgagees are 
obligated to continue to pay existing insurance premiums and meet all 
other obligations associated with insured mortgages.
    A terminated mortgagee may apply for a new Origination Approval 
Agreement if the mortgagee continues to be an approved mortgagee 
meeting the requirements of 24 CFR 202.5, 202.6, 202.7, 202.8 or 202.10 
and 202.12, if there has been no Origination Approval Agreement for at 
least six months, and if the Secretary determines that the underlying 
causes for termination have been remedied. To enable the Secretary to 
ascertain whether the underlying causes for termination have been 
remedied, a mortgagee applying for a new Origination Approval Agreement 
must obtain an independent review 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 review must be conducted and issued by an 
independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualified to perform 
audits under Government Auditing Standards as set forth by the General 
Accounting 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 a new Agreement should be in the form of a letter, 
accompanied by the CPA's report and corrective action plan. The request 
should be sent to the Director, Office of Lender Activities and Program 
Compliance, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room B133-P3214, Washington, DC 
20410 or by courier to 490 L'Enfant Plaza, East, SW., Suite 3214, 
Washington, DC 20024.
    Action: The following mortgagees have had their Agreements 
terminated by HUD:

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                                     Mortgagee branch         HUD office        Termination     Home ownership
         Mortgagee name                  address             jurisdictions    effective date        centers
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Ace Mortgage Funding Inc.......  777 Beachway Drive, Ste  Indianapolis, IN..       9/18/2003  Atlanta.
                                  300, Indianapolis, IN
                                  46224.
All American Home Mortgage Corp  300 Garden City Plaza,   New York, NY......       9/18/2003  Philadelphia.
                                  226 Garden City, NY
                                  11530.
Central Bank for Savings.......  240 Eisenhower Drive,    Jackson, MS.......       9/18/2003  Atlanta.
                                  Biloxi, MS 39535.
CTX Mortgage Company...........  3701 Grand Ave., Ste E,  Springfield, IL...       9/23/2003  Atlanta.
                                  Gurnee, IL 60031.
De Oro Inc.....................  1455 South Stapley, Ste  Phoenix, AZ.......       9/18/2003  Santa Ana.
                                  2, Mesa, AZ 85204.
International Home Capital Corp  2835 South Jones Blvd.,  Las Vegas, NV.....        8/5/2003  Santa Ana.
                                  Ste 3, Las Vegas, NV
                                  89146.
Major Mortgage Corp............  18951 W 12 Mile,         Detroit, MI.......       9/18/2003  Philadelphia.
                                  Lathrup Village, MI
                                  48076.
Mid America Mortgage...........  7907 W Cermak Road,      Chicago, IL.......       9/18/2003  Atlanta.
                                  North Riverside, IL
                                  60546.
Mortgagestream Financial         8758 Wolf Ct., Ste 203,  Denver, CO........       9/23/2003  Denver.
 Services.                        Westminster, CO 80031.
Suburban Mortgage, Inc.........  7400 E Caley Ave., Ste   Denver, CO........       9/18/2003  Denver.
                                  210, Denver, CO 80111.
Transland Financial Service,     2738 N. Mt. Juliet       Nashville, TN.....       9/18/2003  Atlanta.
 Inc.                             Road, Mt. Juliet, TN
                                  37122.

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Transland Financial Service,     311 Germantown Bend      Memphis, TN.......       9/18/2003  Atlanta.
 Inc.                             Cove, Cordova, TN
                                  38018.
Trust America Mortgage, Inc....  2503 Del Prado Blvd.,    Coral Gables, FL..       9/18/2003  Atlanta.
                                  Ste 505, Cape Coral,
                                  FL 33904.
Union Planters Bank, NA........  5201 California Ave.,    Fresno, CA........       9/18/2003  Santa Ana.
                                  370,
                                  Bakersfield, CA 93309.
United Mortgage Investors, Inc.  4290 Memorial Dr., Ste   Atlanta, GA.......       9/18/2003  Atlanta.
                                  C, Decatur, GA 30032.
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    Dated: December 21, 2003.
Margaret Young,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance and Budget.
[FR Doc. 04-509 Filed 1-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-27-P