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1 Working Paper Series Congressional Budget Office Washington, D.C. An Evaluation of Large-Scale Mortgage Refinancing Programs Mitchell Remy Financial Analysis Division Congressional Budget Office Deborah Lucas Sloan School of Management Massachusetts Institute of Technology Damien Moore Financial Analysis Division Congressional Budget Office September 2011 Working Paper To enhance the transparency of CBO s work and to encourage external review of it, CBO s working paper series includes both papers that provide technical descriptions of official CBO analyses and papers that represent original, independent research by CBO analysts. Working papers are not subject to CBO s regular review and editing process. Papers in this series are available at (select Working Papers). This paper is preliminary and is circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The analytic approaches and conclusions in this paper are the authors and should not be interpreted as CBO s. We thank Mark Hadley, David Torregrosa, Aurora Swanson, Chad Chirico, Peter Fontaine, Mark Lasky, Ben Page, and Wendy Edelberg for helpful comments and suggestions. We also thank Francesca Castelli for modeling assistance and Rebecca Rockey for research support.
2 An Evaluation of Large-Scale Mortgage Refinancing Programs Abstract We analyze a stylized large-scale mortgage refinancing program that would relax current income and loan-to-value restrictions for borrowers who wish to refinance and whose mortgages are currently insured by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Federal Housing Administration. The analysis relies on an estimate of the volume of incremental refinancing that would occur and an estimate of how future default and prepayment behavior would be affected by such refinancing. Relative to the status quo, the specific program analyzed here is estimated to cause an additional 2.9 million mortgages to be refinanced, resulting in 111,000 fewer defaults on those loans and estimated savings for the GSEs and FHA of $3.9 billion on their credit guarantee exposure, measured on a fair-value basis. Offsetting those savings, federal investors in MBSs, including the Federal Reserve, the GSEs, and the Treasury, would experience an estimated fair-value loss of $4.5 billion. Therefore, on a fair-value basis, the specific program analyzed here would have an estimated cost to the federal government of $0.6 billion. (The proposal analyzed here is a stylized one, and the estimated costs are not reported entirely according to the rules governing federal budget accounting; the figures in this paper do not represent a CBO cost estimate of a legislative proposal.) Because the estimated gains and losses are small relative to the size of the housing market, the mortgage market, and the overall economy, the effects on those markets and the economy would be small as well. We also discuss the impact of this program on various stakeholders, including homeowners, nonfederal mortgage investors, mortgage lenders, mortgage service providers, private mortgage insurers, and subordinated mortgage holders. For example, non-federal investors would experience an estimated fairvalue loss of $13 to $15 billion; most of that wealth would be transferred to borrowers.
3 Table of Contents Introduction... 1 Background... 4 Current Constraints on Mortgage Refinancing... 5 Existing Programs and Proposals... 9 Design Considerations for a Large-Scale Refinancing Program Estimating Participation in a Large-Scale Refinancing Program A Stylized Program Characterizing the Affected Borrower Population Calculating Incremental Refinancing Impediments to Program Participation Costs and Benefits of the Program Benefits to Homeowners and the Economy Costs and Benefits to Federal Entities Calculating Guarantee Savings Calculating Portfolio Losses Costs and Benefits to Non-Federal Stakeholders Non-Federal Investors Lenders and Other Service Providers Private Mortgage Insurers and Subordinate Mortgage Investors Macroeconomic Benefits Sensitivity of Results to Alternative Policy Choices Discussion Appendix: Fair Value and Alternative Budgetary Treatments of Credit Programs... 27
4 Introduction Although the broader U.S. economy appears to be gradually recovering, the housing market remains weak. In addition to the significant number of mortgages in some stage of delinquency or default, many homeowners are unable to refinance to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates. The unusually low level of refinancing activity has prompted a number of proposals for federal programs that would provide refinancing opportunities to more mortgage borrowers. Such a program would allow participants to lower their monthly mortgage payments, freeing up household income for non-housing expenditures. It could also help some portion of struggling borrowers avoid a future default. The ongoing housing crisis and the slow recovery from the recent recession have locked many borrowers out of the refinancing market. Two main factors drive that phenomenon: Weakened household balance sheets, reduced income and widespread unemployment have left many borrowers unable to qualify for a refinancing because of restrictions based on affordability tests. For some the constraint is a too high loan-to-value (LTV) ratio the amount of mortgage debt divided by the assessed value of the home. 1 Lenders and mortgage guarantors, including the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), have instituted more stringent underwriting requirements, leaving many borrowers unable to qualify for a new loan even if they have remained current on their existing mortgages. Policymakers have responded to these constraints by introducing new refinance programs, such as the GSEs' Home Affordable Refinance Program, HARP, and programs offered by FHA. Although those programs have helped some homeowners, program features and eligibility criteria exclude a significant number of borrowers who would benefit from a refinancing. For example, in 2010 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinanced, through HARP, nearly 30,000 loans with a current LTV between 105 percent and 125 percent (the program maximum). This compares to the more than $762.5 billion of mortgages (or approximately 5 million loans assuming an average balance of $150,000) in the GSEs portfolio that had a current LTV greater than 100 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of A refinancing program that relaxed LTV limits and income tests, waived appraisal requirements, or allowed delinquent borrowers to participate in the program, could make refinancing at current market rates feasible or less expensive for many borrowers. Existing federal mortgage refinancing programs and most proposals for new federal programs restrict eligibility to borrowers with mortgages insured by the GSEs or other federal agencies including the FHA, which collectively guarantee more than 56 percent of mortgages outstanding. Federal taxpayers are already obligated to bear the losses from default on those mortgages, so allowing those borrowers to refinance their loans would not increase the taxpayers exposure to default loss. In fact, taxpayers would 1 In this paper, LTV calculation is based on the first mortgage balance. The combination of first mortgage and any subordinate mortgages is referred to as combined loan-to-value (CLTV). 2 HARP data are from Federal Housing Finance Agency, Foreclosure Prevention & Refinance Report, Fourth Quarter Current LTV data are from the Q credit supplements from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 1
5 benefit from lower losses on such guarantees, because the reduced financial burden from a lower mortgage payment would reduce the likelihood of default. Although such a program would benefit borrowers and would lower federal guarantee costs, it would be costly to mortgage investors, who would experience losses on mortgages that are prepaid more rapidly than in the absence of the program. Some of those investment losses would be borne by the federal government, which, through the Federal Reserve, the GSE portfolios, and the Treasury, has substantial holdings of mortgage-backed securities (MBSs). In this paper, we analyze the potential impact of a stylized program that would increase the availability of refinancing and slightly lower its cost. Specifically, the program would eliminate current loan-to-value and borrower income restrictions on refinancing existing loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA. The new mortgages would have a maturity of 30 years and a fixed interest rate set at the prevailing market rate. The new guarantee fee would be limited to the fee on the existing loan. Eligibility would be limited to borrowers who are current on their existing mortgages. The program would be available for one year. We use a probabilistic model of borrower behavior that CBO developed, estimated from the historic performance of GSE and FHA mortgages, in which borrower default and prepayment rates respond to changes in interest rates and home prices. Using the current population of loans guaranteed by the GSEs and FHA, the model allows us to assess the incremental refinancing volume expected under the stylized program. Those estimates of incremental refinancing activity serve as the basis to assess: Borrower Benefits: Borrowers who refinance experience the benefit of lower mortgage costs and less risk of defaulting in the future. In addition, both borrowers and their local communities benefit from avoiding the economic and social costs of the defaults and foreclosures that would otherwise occur. Guarantee Savings: Lower monthly payments for borrowers who refinance through the program reduce the probability of future defaults on the refinanced loans. As guarantors of those loans, the GSEs and FHA benefit in the form of lower expected costs. Investor Losses: Investors in the MBSs backed by the existing loans suffer a loss in the value of their investments, particularly for securities that are trading at prices that reflect the market s expectation that refinancing is unlikely. Those investors include both federal entities (the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury, and the GSEs) and non-federal entities (U.S. financial institutions, pension funds, foreign governments, and other private investors). Losses experienced by federal entities represent a cost to taxpayers. Other Stakeholders: The program would affect many additional stakeholders in the mortgage finance industry, including lenders (as loan originators), servicers, mortgage insurers, and thirdparty service providers; some would benefit but others would lose. Macroeconomic Benefits: Lower monthly mortgage payments for borrowers would produce a short-run stimulus because those borrowers would tend to increase their spending. (The stimulus effect would be slightly offset by the reduction in spending arising from capital losses to private investors.) Although not quantified in our analysis, the stimulus is likely to be small as a percentage of GDP, but large relative to the net federal cost of the program. The effects on the housing and broader markets from increased spending and averted defaults are likely to be small 2
6 because the gains and losses to borrowers and investors are likely to be small relative to the sizes of those markets. Costs reported in this paper are calculated on a fair-value basis. Although that approach is consistent with CBO s budgetary treatment of the GSEs, it differs from the budgetary treatment of both the Federal Reserve, reflected in the budget on a cash basis, and the MBS purchases of the U.S. Treasury, presented on a Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, or FCRA (Public Law ), basis. With those differences in mind, reported costs in this paper are meant to provide an internally consistent measure of cost but not an estimate of the federal budgetary cost of a large-scale refinancing program. The proposal analyzed here is a stylized one and the estimated costs are not reported entirely according to the rules governing federal budget accounting. The figures in this paper do not represent a CBO cost estimate of a legislative proposal. Under our base case assumptions, the stylized program is estimated to cause an additional 2.9 million mortgages to be refinanced, resulting in 111,000 fewer defaults on those loans and resulting in savings for the GSEs and FHA of $3.9 billion on their credit guarantee exposure, measured on a fair-value basis. 3 Offsetting those savings, federal investors in MBSs, including the Federal Reserve, the GSEs, and the Treasury, would experience a loss of $4.5 billion (also on a fair-value basis). The net federal cost would be an estimated $0.6 billion. From the borrowers perspective, savings from lower mortgage payments is projected to total $7.4 billion in the first year of the program; the associated effect on consumption would decline significantly over time as borrowers pay off those loans. Non-federal investors hold approximately 65 percent of the outstanding MBSs included in the analysis. In addition to holding a larger share of the market than federal investors, those non-federal investors also hold a greater proportion of older, higher-coupon securities; the Federal Reserve and the Treasury purchased a large share of recently issued, lower-coupon MBSs as a part of their recent market interventions. As a result, non-federal investors are expected to experience a fair-value loss of $13 to $15 billion about three times the size of the loss to federal investors. In practice, the effects of such a program would depend significantly on several factors, including the design of the program (for instance, the fee structure and the eligibility criterion), the willingness of mortgage industry firms (lenders, mortgage insurers, and other ancillary service providers) to participate in the program, borrower acceptance, and the future movements of interest rates, home prices, and other economic variables. Some analysts and advocates have called for large-scale mortgage refinancing programs that would include principal forgiveness by lenders or guarantors on mortgages where the loan balance significantly exceeds the value of the home, and others have called for refinancing programs that would offer borrowers new mortgage rates below current market rates. Such policies could have much larger effects on the housing market and the economy, but probably only if they also entailed significantly higher costs to the federal government. Policies of that sort are outside the scope of this paper s analysis. 3 The savings are calculated on a fair-value basis, which is an estimate of the market value of the averted defaults. 3
7 Background The terms of most mortgage loans in the United States permit the borrower to refinance without penalty or restriction. That is the case for loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA. Because of those terms, investors expect that many borrowers with a financial incentive to refinance will do so. Apart from lowering their interest rate, borrowers may have an incentive to refinance for several reasons: to reduce the monthly payment; to obtain a more desirable amortization schedule (for example, moving from an interest-only loan to one with monthly principal and interest payments to eliminate a potential balloon payment, or changing the term to maturity on the mortgage); to reduce risk by moving from a floatingrate loan to a fixed-rate loan; or to extract accumulated equity as a means for increasing funds available for spending (also known as a cash-out refinancing). Those benefits are weighed against the financial and non-financial costs associated with obtaining a new loan, including appraisal costs, origination fees, title fees, settlement fees, taxes, and the time and effort necessary to obtain the refinanced loan. The ultimate decision to refinance incorporates not only the borrowers assessment of the direct costs and benefits of the transaction but also includes additional considerations, including the remaining term of the mortgage and how long they expect to remain in the home, their current credit profile, their expectation of future interest rates, and other factors. 4 Finally, borrowers will weigh the decision to refinance against the other option inherent in their mortgage the ability to default. Borrowers with significant negative equity or credit constraints may find that option particularly valuable and thus an extremely important consideration. 5 The option to refinance granted to mortgage borrowers is not free to them. Investors in mortgages and MBSs are exposed to prepayment risk and will adjust the price they are willing to pay for those assets based on the perceived level of exposure. That compensation for prepayment risk is passed through to mortgage borrowers in the form of higher initial interest rates. 6 In recent years, refinancing loans have represented a significant portion of total loan originations, particularly in periods of falling interest rates. Chart 1 provides a clear picture of that relationship during recent refinancing waves in , 1998, and In each case, mortgage rates dropped more than 2 percentage points, sparking an increase in borrowers looking to lock in those lower rates. Since the early 1990s, several changes in the mortgage market have increased borrowers likelihood to refinance. Some of those changes include the advent of automated underwriting systems (most notably Fannie Mae s Desktop Underwriter and Freddie Mac s Loan Prospector), the widespread use of credit scores and automated property-valuation models, and the development of streamlined refinancing 4 Many aspects of a borrower s decision to refinance fit within a traditional option pricing framework. For a description of that approach, see Paul Bennett, Richard Peach and Stavros Peristiani, Structural Change in the Mortgage Market and the Propensity to Refinance, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 33: , For a discussion of the relationship between default and prepayment behavior in mortgage valuation, see Yongheng Deng, John M. Quigley and Robert Van Order. Mortgage Terminations, Heterogeneity and the Exercise of Mortgage Options, Econometrica, vol. 68, no. 2; March For discussion of prepayment risk and its effect on MBS investors, see The Handbook of Mortgage-Backed Securities, Frank Fabozzi, ed.,
8 products by the GSEs, FHA, and many financial institutions which have made the refinancing process both less costly and more efficient for both borrowers and lenders. 7 Chart 1. Single Family Annual Mortgage Originations and 30-year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Rates 40% 12 Originations as a % of Mortgage Debt Outstanding 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% Mortgage Rate (%) 0% Refinance Originations 30yr Mortgage Rate Source: Origination data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage debt outstanding data from the Federal Reserve Board. 30-year mortgage rate from Freddie Mac. Current Constraints on Mortgage Refinancing Despite rates dropping more than 1.5 percentage points since 2007, refinancing volumes have not seen a spike similar to previous refinancing waves. Some explanations for the lack of refinancing activity are largely unconnected to the recent financial crisis. First, a significant portion of current mortgages were originated in the low-rate environment that has existed since According to data provided by Bloomberg on 30-year MBSs guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA, approximately 46 percent of loans have an interest rate lower than 5.5 percent, and 67 percent have an interest rate lower than 6 percent. 8 Under recent interest rate conditions, a majority of borrowers might not receive the 1 to 2 percentage point improvement in interest rate generally cited as the trigger for refinancing for rate reduction. 9 Second, because rates have remained low for an extended period of time, many borrowers 7 Streamlined refinancing products allow borrowers to refinance, often with the same lender, without undertaking many of the steps of a traditional refinancing, including income and asset documentation, employment verification and property appraisal. 8 Loans guaranteed by FHA are securitized in Ginnie Mae MBSs, which also contain loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development s Office of Public and Indian Housing, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture s Rural Development programs. 9 See Sumit Agarwal, John C. Driscoll and David Laibson, Optimal Mortgage Refinancing: A Closed Form Solution, October 2007, for fuller discussion of refinancing economics. 5
9 inclined to refinance for rate reduction have already done so. Refinance volumes have exceeded $1 trillion in each year after 2003, with the exception of the depths of the financial crisis in It is widely acknowledged that impediments to refinancing high-interest-rate loans have increased in the wake of the financial crisis. In addition to the limited options facing borrowers resulting from negative equity created by home price declines, reduced income or unemployment, and the continued high levels of consumer debt accumulated over the past decade many lenders and private mortgage insurers have tightened their underwriting standards. Lenders have been tightening their underwriting standards for both prime and non-traditional mortgages during the past few years (see Chart 2). As a result, underwriting standards are significantly more restrictive than they were at the start of the financial crisis. Examples include the drastic curtailment of interest-only and negative amortizing loan guarantees issued by the GSEs since 2008 and the institution of minimum credit scores, LTV ratios, and other risk management policies by FHA. 10 Another sign of tightening is that private lenders, the GSEs and the FHA now charge higher fees or rates than before the crisis on mortgages made to less creditworthy borrowers or with LTV ratios at origination that exceed 80 percent. Chart 2. Net Percentage of Loan Officers (Domestic Respondents) Tightening Standards for Residential 11 Mortgage Loans Net % Prime Nontraditional Source: Federal Reserve Board Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, April See Fannie Mae 2011 First-Quarter Credit Supplement and FHA Mortgagee Letter A value greater than zero means more respondents in the survey indicated that they have tightened lending standards than those that indicated standards have loosened or remained the same. The nontraditional category includes but is not limited to adjustable-rate mortgages with multiple payment options, interest-only mortgages, and Alt-A products such as mortgages with limited income verification and mortgages secured by non-owner-occupied properties. 6
10 A further indication of the continuing dislocation in the mortgage market is the distribution of new originations between the GSEs, FHA, and the private market. In the first half of 2011, the GSEs, FHA and VA averaged 95 percent of new originations, continuing the trend of the past few years, far above levels during the peak of the housing boom and far above the pre-boom average of approximately 50 to 55 percent. The GSEs and FHA also continue to play an important role in the jumbo loan market (generally loans above $417,000). 12 Increases in federally backed market share in both the jumbo market and the non-jumbo market have come even as both the GSEs and FHA have instituted a number of guarantee fee increases since the onset of the crisis. Charts 3 and 4 provide evidence of the prominence of the GSEs and FHA in recent years. Prospects for a rebound in the private market remain uncertain, with some analysts estimating that mortgage spreads would need to rise considerably for securitizations to become profitable again for non-federally guaranteed MBSs. Chart 3. Mortgage Originations by Source 100% 90% 80% 70% % of Total Originations 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% H FHA/VA GSE Other Source: Constructed from estimates by Inside Mortgage Finance. 12 The expanded authority to guarantee jumbo mortgages is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2011, at which time the limit in high-cost areas will drop from $729,750 to $625,500. 7
11 Chart 4. Jumbo Originations $700.0 $600.0 $500.0 $400.0 $s billion $300.0 $200.0 $100.0 $ Agency Jumbo Non-Agency Jumbo Source: Constructed from estimates by Inside Mortgage Finance A measure of the difficulty borrowers are experiencing in refinancing their mortgages is the unusually high premium over the face (or par) value that investors are willing to pay for MBSs with high coupon rates. The availability of the option to prepay the mortgage usually prevents the price of MBSs from rising too much above par value. In general, a coupon-paying bond, including a mortgage-backed security, will increase in value when interest rates fall. For MBSs, however, large increases above par value are uncommon because the decline in interest rates tends to speed up the rate of prepayment on the underlying mortgages and, hence, MBS investors do not expect to receive an above-market coupon for very long. The current high pricing suggests that investors expect impediments to refinancing to prevail considerably longer than usual. Chart 5, based on Fannie Mae 30-year MBSs that have coupons that are approximately 1.5 percent above the prevailing par coupon rate, shows that investors have increased the price for those securities since Although many factors affect pricing for MBSs, a strong case can be made for lower prepayment expectations as an important component in the price premium investors are currently willing to pay for those securities. 8
12 Chart 5. Weekly Pricing for Premium Fannie Mae 30-year Fixed-Rate MBSs Jan-00 Jan-01 Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08 Jan-09 Jan-10 Jan-11 Price for approx. 150 bps above par Average price for approx. 150 bps above par (2000 to 2006) Note: Par = 100 Source: Bloomberg data for Fannie Mae 30-year MBSs. Existing Programs and Proposals To address the lack of opportunities for borrowers with above-market mortgages to refinance, the Administration introduced the HARP, launched in tandem with the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in Since inception through the first quarter of 2011, the GSEs have refinanced nearly 750,000 borrowers through HARP. Approximately 700,000 of those borrowers had a current LTV of less than 105 percent, and the remaining (approximately 50,000) had LTVs between 105 percent and 125 percent. HARP, which targets loans owned or guaranteed by the GSEs, provides flexibility that does not exist in the GSEs standard refinancing programs. In particular, HARP allows borrowers with current LTVs up to 125 percent to refinance without increasing the current level of private mortgage insurance (PMI) attached to their loan. Although that feature reduces the cost of the refinanced loan to the borrower, other program parameters are less flexible than those in some proposals for a more comprehensive large-scale refinancing program. HARP requires borrowers to demonstrate that they have sufficient income to make the new payments, even if they are current on their more costly existing mortgage. The program limits current LTV to 125 percent, excluding many homeowners with the most severe negative equity. It also requires borrowers to be current on their existing loan, and not to have been more than 30 days past due on a payment over the past year. Finally, the program extends only to existing GSE borrowers. FHA offers two different programs designed to increase access to refinancing. The streamlined refinancing program targets existing FHA loans and provides for both reduced documentation and lower 9
13 costs. To qualify for a streamlined refinancing, borrowers must be both current on their existing loan, pass traditional underwriting criteria for sustainability, and have a maximum combined LTV of less than 125 percent. 13 The much smaller Short Refinance program allows for the refinancing of non-fha loans into a loan guaranteed by FHA. The program s main benefit to borrowers comes from the requirement that the loan must be written down to a level necessary to create a new loan with an LTV less than percent. Although that lower loan balance would most likely reduce monthly mortgage payments, borrowers must still qualify for the loan based on a standard FHA underwriting. FHA completed nearly 213,000 streamlined refinancing loans in fiscal year 2010 and is on pace to achieve the same volume in fiscal year As of April 2011, only 151 Short Refinance loans had been executed in fiscal year 2011 (with none in fiscal year 2010). 14 Policy makers, market participants, and academics have offered several proposals designed to address the limited success of HARP and the two FHA programs. The best known of those proposals are bills introduced in both houses of Congress 15 and proposals put forth by R. Glenn Hubbard and Christopher Mayer, and by David Greenlaw. Although the details differ, each proposal aims to significantly boost refinancing activity by relaxing eligibility rules, including accepting higher LTV mortgages and less financially secure borrowers. Some proposals also limit the fees that may be charged on the refinanced loan. Table 1 provides a brief summary of existing and proposed programs. 13 Includes subordinate financing. LTV is based on either a new appraisal or the original appraised amount. 14 FHA Single-Family Outlook Report, April Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity Act of 2011 (H.R. 363, 112 th Congress, 1 st Session 2011) and the Helping Responsible Homeowners Act (S. 170, 112 th Congress, 1 st Session 2011) 10
14 Table 1. Existing and Proposed Refinancing Programs Existing Programs Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) Key Features and Restrictions Allows for refinancing of loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Borrower required to pay designated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan level price adjustments, which are fees based on assessed risk. Existing level of private mortgage insurance may be retained on new loan, even if current loan to value has increased. Restrictions Borrower must be current on existing mortgage and must not have been more than 30 days late on mortgage payment during prior year. Existing loan must be less than 125 percent of current home value. Borrower must display ability to make new payment. FHA Streamlined Refinance Allows for refinancing of FHA loans. Provides for reduced documentation and underwriting required to be performed by the lender. Borrower upfront costs can be reduced in exchange for either a higher note rate or a larger mortgage principal balance. Restrictions Borrower must be current on existing mortgage. Existing loan must be less than 125 percent of current home value. Borrower must display ability to make new payment. FHA Short Refinance Allows for refinancing of non-fha loans. Holder of existing first mortgage must agree to write off at least 10 percent of unpaid principal balance of the mortgage, resulting in a new FHA loan of no more than percent loan-to-value (and a combined loan-to-value of 115 percent if a subordinate mortgage exists). Restrictions Borrower must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements (including having a credit score equal to or greater than 500). Proposed Programs Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity Act (H.R. 363) Helping Responsible Homeowners Act (S. 170) Allows for refinancing of loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both current and delinquent borrowers are eligible. Prohibits appraisal to establish current loan to value. Limits interest rate and fees borrower may be charged on new loan. Allows for refinancing of loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Borrower must be current on existing mortgage. Removes limit on current loan to value. Limits interest rate and fees (including loan level price adjustments and delivery fees) borrower may be charged on new loan. 11
15 Proposed Programs Proposals by R. Glenn Hubbard and Christopher Mayer, and by David Greenlaw Allows for refinancing of mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and VA. Describes a process that does not require new underwriting of borrower and proposes no limits on loan-to-value or borrower debt-to-income ratio (a measure of affordability of the loan). Encourages servicers and lenders to limit fees associated with new loans. Fees are included in the principal balance of the new loan to reduce upfront costs to the borrower. Early proposal by Hubbard and Mayer suggested allowing all owneroccupied loans to be refinanced at 5.25 percent with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 16 Source: Public disclosures and program documentation. Design Considerations for a Large-Scale Refinancing Program The scope and cost of any new large-scale mortgage refinancing program may vary considerably depending on several key design choices. Those include the types of mortgages that qualify, the determinants of borrower eligibility, the amount of any subsidies (for instance, offering below-market interest rates), the size and structure of associated transactions costs, and the incentives for lender and servicer participation. Loans that are eligible for refinancing could be limited to those already guaranteed by the GSEs. Alternatively, the program could also include mortgages guaranteed by federal agencies such as FHA, or non-federal or so-called private-label mortgages. Refinancing of loans guaranteed by both the GSEs and federal agencies would reduce existing federal liabilities by reducing the probability of future defaults on those mortgages (and would also impose losses on the federal government by reducing the value of mortgage-backed securities, as discussed below). The expected savings would differ depending on mortgage and borrower characteristics. By contrast, extending the program to private-label mortgages and allowing those borrowers to refinance into loans with new federal guarantees could significantly increase federal costs by adding a significant new source of risk exposure. The higher costs could be partially offset by charging higher guarantee fees, but the fees would reduce the number of borrowers who could benefit from refinancing. Some proposals allow borrowers who are delinquent on their existing mortgages to participate, whereas under other proposals borrowers must be current on their payments. Allowing delinquent borrowers to refinance at lower rates would make their mortgages more affordable and in some cases could avoid foreclosures. However, a subsequent default on a refinanced loan may entail additional costs if the value of the property decreases or if other costs increase as a result of granting the new loan. An additional issue is the extent to which delinquent borrowers with no intention of becoming current opt to refinance as a means of resetting their delinquency to delay the loss of their home. The fees that the GSEs and FHA charge on the loans that they refinance could significantly affect program participation rates and federal cost. Charging higher fees would tend to reduce the federal cost of 16 R. Glenn Hubbard and Christopher Mayer, First, Let's Stabilize Home Prices, Wall Street Journal, October 2,
16 the program, but also would reduce the number of borrowers expected to participate (particularly if the fees take the form of significant upfront payments that require borrowers to come up with cash at the closing of the loan). Conversely, if the GSEs and FHA set fees at lower levels that would generate less revenue than is currently expected from those loans, it would increase the cost to the federal government and also tend to increase the program participation rates. The degree to which underwriting procedures (including verification of borrower income and assets) and the ancillary services and fees required for a traditional refinancing are either waived or subsidized for loans in the program could significantly affect participation rates. Making a loan through the program easier to close and less costly for the borrower will increase participation among borrowers who view the financial and non-financial cost of a new loan as an impediment. However, eliminating certain aspects of a traditional loan underwriting and closing (including title services) or requiring service providers to offer them at a reduced cost may yield a loan with less appeal to potential investors, and hence would result in somewhat higher interest rates on the new loans. It also may lower incentives for lenders and other service providers to participate in the program. A final consideration is the degree to which the current LTV is utilized in program eligibility criteria. Limiting the level of negative equity permitted on the refinancing may mitigate the severity of the loss should the borrower default on the new loan. Once again, however, that risk of loss is one that the guarantor already has and hopes to reduce through the lower probability of default created by the lowercost refinancing. A related question is whether the current LTV is even assessed, through an appraisal or an automated valuation process, during the refinancing process. Eliminating the appraisal may produce an additional cost saving for borrowers at the expense of not providing investors with an up-to-date assessment of the potential risk of default inherent in the new loans. Estimating Participation in a Large-Scale Refinancing Program To quantify the potential effects of a large-scale refinancing program, we analyzed a stylized program that draws on the structure of current and proposed programs. The analysis relies on an estimate of the volume of incremental refinancing those refinancings that would not have occurred absent the relaxed eligibility requirements and reduced costs provided under the program and an estimate of how future default and prepayment behavior are affected by a mortgage being refinanced at a lower monthly payment (based on both a reduced interest rate and a potentially longer amortization term). The analysis is based on models developed by CBO to predict mortgage prepayments, defaults, and the severity of default as functions of borrower characteristics, loan terms, and economic conditions. The economic assumptions, particularly for interest rates and house prices, are consistent with CBO s January 2011 baseline forecast. 17 A Stylized Program For the purposes of the analysis, we considered the following stylized program parameters: The program starts in the first quarter of 2012 and will be available for one year. Eligibility includes existing loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA. 17 See Congressional Budget Office, Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2021, January CBO subsequently updated its economic projections. See The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update, August
17 A borrower must be current on an existing mortgage and must not have been more than 30 days late on any mortgage payments during the prior year, but there are no limits on the borrower s current income or on the loan-to-value ratio of the new loan. The GSEs and FHA will assess a guarantee fee equal to the fee charged initially on the existing loan. The fee will be incorporated into the interest rate on the new loan by the GSEs and charged as an annual premium by FHA. The new loan has a fixed rate of interest, at the prevailing market rate, and a term of 30 years. Lenders and select third parties (for example, closing services and title search to ensure no new liens have been placed on the property) charge fees amounting to the lesser of 1 percent of principal or $1,000 to process the loan. The program shares many of the features of existing proposals for a large-scale refinancing program. Eliminating current LTV or borrower income limits and restricting the ability to charge fees on the refinanced loans are key elements driving participation and are primary points of departure from existing programs such as HARP and FHA s Streamlined Refinance. Allowing FHA loans in addition to GSE loans is a significant difference between the stylized program considered here and the two bills before Congress. Characterizing the Affected Borrower Population Summary data provided by Bloomberg on the dollar amounts, coupons, origination dates, and prices of 30-year and 15-year MBSs guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA (through Ginnie Mae securitizations) determine the potentially eligible population of existing mortgages. 18 According to Bloomberg, those MBSs had outstanding balances totaling $4.3 trillion as of June 1, Of that total, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee $3.5 trillion. (The estimates reported here are based on the Bloomberg sample; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee an additional $1.5 trillion or so of mortgages that may have adjustable rates ARMs or other non-traditional terms, or that are held by the GSEs as whole loans rather than in an MBS. Some of those borrowers might also benefit from an easing of refinancing rules. We excluded ARM and non-traditional borrowers from the analysis because of the complexities associated with estimating the incentive to refinance into a fixed rate loan. In addition, we excluded whole loans held in the GSEs portfolios, because a growing percentage of those loans were recently modified or are currently non-performing.) To capture differences in the behavior, costs, and risks associated with different borrowers, but to keep the analysis relatively simple, we classify the population of borrowers who could refinance into representative groups based on the interest rate on their current mortgage, on whether the mortgage was originally a 30-year or 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, and on risk category. The risk categories reflect the characteristics that affect borrowers propensity to default on their mortgages, and are designated as high, medium, and low risk. Each group is further characterized by the following variables (Table 2 provides an overview of the loan groupings): Borrower FICO score According to Ginnie Mae s 2010 Annual Report, FHA loans represent approximately 80 percent of Ginnie Mae securities. The FHA volumes are based on the outstanding balances reported for Ginnie Mae securities, adjusted downward by 20 percent to exclude non-fha loans. 19 Borrower credit scores were calculated using models developed by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO). 14
18 Current, or mark-to-market, loan-to-value (MTMLTV) ratio on existing mortgage Origination year of existing mortgage Interest rate on existing mortgage Imputed interest rate on new mortgage In total, potential refinancers are classified into 108 distinct groups, representing the combination of 2 maturities, 9 coupon rate pools, and 3 risk categories for the GSE population and for the FHA population. Total program costs are the sum of the estimated cost per dollar of loans outstanding multiplied by the estimated total principal balances across each of the 108 groups. The behavioral models predict the quarterly probability of prepayment, default, and default severity for each group. Those probabilities are based on statistical estimates using historical data on individual mortgages originated between 2000 and 2010 and fairly standard statistical specifications. 20 Calculating Incremental Refinancing As a first step in determining incremental refinancing attributable to the program, we run the behavioral models to simulate a scenario without the program (the base case scenario). Under those conditions, we record expected prepayments, defaults, and loss severities over the remaining lifetime of existing mortgages for each representative group. Next, we run the models under conditions designed to capture the incremental refinancing volumes expected with the program (the program scenario). Specifically, we remove the constraint facing borrowers with negative equity by assuming that all borrowers possess a LTV ratio of 50 percent, low enough not to create an impediment to refinancing. Also, we assume that all borrowers have a FICO score of 780, high enough to ensure that credit availability is not a barrier to refinancing, even under the fairly stringent underwriting criteria currently in effect. The assumed rates on a new mortgage reflect expected market conditions and a discount for the lower transaction costs charged to the borrower. The assumed rates also reflect a small positive premium arising from the higher financing costs typically charged by MBS investors for non-standard loans. 21 In the program scenario we assume that the net effect of lower transaction costs and a non-standard product amounts to a 0.25 percentage point net rate reduction for borrowers. Thus, the rate the borrower obtains on a mortgage refinanced through the program is the projected mortgage rate at the date of the refinance (as per CBO's baseline economic assumptions) less 0.25 percentage point, and hence, is only 0.25 percentage point lower than the rate in the base case scenario. Because the assumed transactions cost savings are small, the main factors that drive additional refinancing activity in the model are the loosening of FICO and LTV restrictions. The difference in prepayment volumes between the base case and the program model represent the incremental refinancing attributed to the program over the course of calendar year Those incremental participation rates, applied to estimated unpaid loan principal balances, determine the expected dollar volumes of incremental refinancing. 20 For an overview of a standard model consistent with CBO s approach, see Appendices A through F in Actuarial Review of the Federal Housing Administration Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (Excluding HECMs) for Fiscal Year 2009, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, November Loans that do not meet certain standards cannot be included in the most liquid MBSs (also known as TBA, or To Be Announced, mortgage-backed securities). 15
19 Table 2. GSE and FHA Loan Groupings GSE Population 30YR ALL ALL HIGH MIDDLE LOW MBS Coupon AGE (qtrs) $ TOTAL (millions) FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON 3.0 and below 8 $ % % % $38, % % % $418, % % % $752, % % % $618, % % % $557, % % % 6.0 and above 22 $506, % % % 15YR ALL ALL HIGH MIDDLE LOW MBS Coupon AGE (qtrs) $ TOTAL (millions) FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON 3.0 and below 2 $14, % % % $109, % % % $184, % % % $142, % % % $89, % % % $38, % % % 6.0 and above 29 $22, % % % FHA Population 30YR ALL ALL HIGH MIDDLE LOW MBS Coupon AGE (qtrs) $ TOTAL (millions) FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON 3.0 and below 19 $ % % % $12, % % % $101, % % % $269, % % % $208, % % % $94, % % % 6.0 and above 22 $93, % % % 15YR ALL ALL HIGH MIDDLE LOW MBS Coupon AGE (qtrs) $ TOTAL (millions) FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON FICO MTMLTV % OF COUPON 3.0 and below 1 $ % % % $4, % % % $12, % % % $5, % % % $2, % % % $1, % % % 6.0 and above 25 $1, % % % Source: Bloomberg data with CBO analysis. 16
20 Table 3 summarizes the expected refinancing rates under the base case and program scenarios for the representative groups. Values in the table represent the unpaid balance in each group expected to refinance during the period of time that the program is in effect as a percent of total unpaid balance outstanding at the start of the program. In total, the model predicts that $428 billion of incremental refinancing would occur under the program. Table 3. Expected Incremental Refinance Rates GSE Population 30YR HIGH HIGH MIDDLE MIDDLE LOW LOW MBS Coupon Base Case Program Base Case Program Base Case Program 3.0 and below 1% 7% 2% 7% 3% 7% 3.5 2% 10% 4% 10% 6% 10% 4.0 2% 14% 5% 14% 8% 14% 4.5 3% 20% 4% 20% 11% 20% 5.0 4% 25% 6% 25% 14% 25% 5.5 3% 23% 5% 23% 12% 23% 6.0 and above 4% 29% 6% 30% 13% 31% 15YR HIGH HIGH MIDDLE MIDDLE LOW LOW MBS Coupon Base Case Program Base Case Program Base Case Program 3.0 and below 3% 6% 4% 6% 3% 6% 3.5 4% 10% 6% 10% 6% 10% 4.0 5% 14% 7% 14% 8% 14% 4.5 4% 18% 7% 18% 10% 18% 5.0 4% 19% 8% 19% 11% 19% 5.5 5% 23% 9% 24% 14% 24% 6.0 and above 4% 41% 13% 43% 26% 43% FHA Population 30YR HIGH HIGH MIDDLE MIDDLE LOW LOW MBS Coupon Base Case Program Base Case Program Base Case Program 3.0 and below 1% 6% 2% 6% 4% 6% 3.5 2% 9% 4% 9% 6% 9% 4.0 3% 15% 5% 15% 9% 15% 4.5 2% 17% 4% 17% 10% 17% 5.0 3% 18% 4% 18% 10% 18% 5.5 4% 25% 6% 25% 14% 25% 6.0 and above 4% 31% 7% 31% 14% 31% 15YR HIGH HIGH MIDDLE MIDDLE LOW LOW MBS Coupon Base Case Program Base Case Program Base Case Program 3.0 and below 3% 6% 4% 6% 4% 6% 3.5 4% 9% 5% 9% 6% 9% 4.0 5% 13% 7% 13% 7% 13% 4.5 7% 30% 12% 30% 17% 30% 5.0 4% 19% 7% 19% 11% 19% 5.5 5% 23% 9% 23% 14% 23% 6.0 and above 4% 31% 9% 31% 18% 31% Source: CBO analysis. 17
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