Sacramento Association of REALTORS® Web Log

1. FHA Under New Command
When the FHA announced in late September that it was hiring a chief risk officer—for the first time in the agency’s 74-year history—it was taking preventive action. The agency had seen the market share of FHA-insured mortgages grow to almost 40 percent from about 4 percent four years ago, and its new chief, David Stevens, was not taking any chances with financial safety. When the agency’s capital-to-insurance ratio had dipped below 2 percent in one of its reserve accounts, Stevens—a veteran mortgage and real estate executive who has held key posts at Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac, and Long & Foster—immediately took steps to assess and manage FHA’s risk. The government insurer hasn’t had a major technology upgrade or staff increase in more than a decade, yet demand for the FHA’s stabilizing presence continues to grow. Can Stevens meet the demand without jeopardizing safety and soundness? Given the no-nonsense steps he’s taken to shore up his agency’s credit position, the answer appears to be yes.

Continue reading: 10 to Watch in 2010