Seeking to buoy a strained rural economy in the midst of the recession, Congress ordered up a huge increase in federal mortgage guarantees for small-town home buyers as part of the 2009 economic stimulus package. The response from lenders was immediate. The value of federally backed rural home loans soared to $16.2 billion in fiscal 2009, up from just $3.7 billion two years earlier. Last year, the guarantees reached nearly $16.8 billion. Now, a newly released audit has found that the rural loan program, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, was plagued by lax government oversight and many of the same sloppy banking practices that fed the broader mortgage debacle.
Auditors see rising defaults in rural loans
Most Popular Articles
Latest Articles
Pennymac posts first-quarter profit of $39M
Loan production income shrank in the first quarter, but the company’s servicing business continues to grow
-
DOJ charges one of America’s top LOs in alleged mortgage fraud scheme
-
Top Producer Review: Features, pricing & alternatives
-
A&D Mortgage names new servicing manager
-
HUD aims to help protect communities from extreme heat
-
Freedom Mortgage founder addresses ’extraordinary’ credit profiles, profitability and products