FHA ISSUES ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATUS REPORT TO CONGRESS
Actions to Strengthen Fund Yield $21 Billion in Growth in 2 Years

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released its annual report to Congress 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 released today.

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 Julián 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 a comprehensive briefing on the Independent Actuary's Report and FHA's Financial Outlook.

The FHA's Role in the Housing Market

The FHA was established in response to the failure of the banking system during the Great Depression to help stabilize the economy and the housing market. When the private market couldn't or wouldn't provide access to credit, FHA was there, investing in our economy and preserving pathways to the middle class - just as it was designed to do. During this most recent crisis, FHA experienced a nearly five-fold increase in market share enabling it to provide critical access to credit when most needed. Today, the number of single-family loan endorsements has declined to pre-crisis levels. This decline indicates the housing market and economy are beginning to recover.

During its nearly 80-year history, FHA has helped approximately 40 million Americans purchase or refinance homes—nearly 7 million of those just during the most recent crisis.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDGov, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's Email List.