U.S. Mortgage Insurers: FHA's 2023 Annual Financial Report to Congress

Targeted News Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 -- The U.S. Mortgage Insurers issued the following statement on Nov. 15, 2023:

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Seth Appleton, President of U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI), the association representing the nation's leading private mortgage insurance (MI) companies, issued the following statement on the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) release of its Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report to Congress on the financial status of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF):

"USMI supports FHA's continued efforts to maintain the fiscal health of the MMIF. As the most common form of credit enhancement for low down payment lending in the mortgage system, private mortgage insurers recognize the targeted role of FHA and the presence and depth of its taxpayer-funded backstop. FHA is an important complement to our industry's work particularly in serving those who may not have access to homeownership through the conventional market, and its financial health is critical for the housing market.

"On the heels of this FHA report, the mortgage guarantor sector overall, from government programs to private mortgage insurers, is in a strong position and ready to serve low down payment borrowers. This is positive news amidst broader challenges in the current market. USMI looks forward to continued engagement with FHA, the Administration, and Congress to promote a coordinated housing finance policy that recognizes the roles of private capital and government programs in the low-down payment lending space in order to best serve borrowers, while protecting taxpayers from undue credit risk."

Private MI has enabled more than 38 million people since 1957 to access affordable and sustainable low down payment mortgages while providing critical credit risk protection. Recently, USMI released a report detailing the important enhancements the private MI industry has undertaken over the past 15 years that allow it to better support the housing finance system with private capital and serve as a source of strength through all market cycles.