FHA, VA, Ginnie Mae outline 2026 housing policy and regulatory priorities

Federal housing leaders on Tuesday outlined policy and regulatory priorities centered on affordability, operational efficiency and long-term financial stewardship during a panel discussion at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s annual Servicing Solutions Conference.

The panel featured Frank Cassidy, commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and assistant secretary for housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Joseph Gormley, president of Ginnie Mae; and Patrick Zondervan, executive director of the Loan Guaranty Service at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The discussion occurred as federal housing agencies face heightened attention on housing affordability and market stability.

Each panelist shared their top regulatory priorities for the year. Cassidy said he’s prioritizing deregulatory efforts to make the FHA loan process more efficient. Gormley’s priorities included Ginnie Mae’s liquidation of net reporting, working around mortgage-backed securities (MBS) disclosures and transparency for investors. Zondervan, meanwhile, said that home loan affordability is top of mind.

Cassidy said that since taking on his role as FHA commissioner, he has focused on streamlining operations at the agency and reducing what he described as bureaucratic barriers for lenders and servicers.

“We’ve been focused on making FHA more efficient, making it easier for lenders, for servicers, to do business with FHA,” Cassidy said.

On his first day, he said, the agency revised its loss-mitigation waterfall, a move Cassidy said is projected to save the FHA insurance fund roughly $2 billion over the next decade.

“There’s been so much bureaucratic red tape that’s been put in place over the years,” he said. “We’re focused on identifying areas within all FHA loan programs where we can pull that back, so that doing business with FHA is easier and more streamlined.”

Cassidy said the agency is closely monitoring early and serious delinquencies following the policy change. While there has been a “slight uptick” as the new framework takes effect, he said the agency expects these numbers to moderate over time.

Balancing FHA’s housing mission with the long-term health of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance fund remains central, he added. The fund’s capital ratio stood at 11.47% — nearly five times higher than its statutory minimum requirement — in the agency’s most recent annual report.

“We want to advance the mission, but we ultimately want to be stewards of the FHA program,” Cassidy said.

Gormley said affordability remains a top priority at Ginnie Mae, noting that the agency supports FHA and VA programs that serve first-time homebuyers, along with rural and tribal housing initiatives.

The agency’s guaranteed portfolio recently surpassed $2.9 trillion and could exceed $3 trillion later this year, he said.

Among Ginnie Mae’s key initiatives is a transition toward more frequent liquidation event reporting. Previously reported monthly, such events will now be reported daily, a move Gormley said will strengthen operational resiliency and allow for more timely disclosures to investors.

Ginnie Mae is also pursuing what Gormley described as its “No. 1 initiative,” a shift toward a loan-level operating model.

Since issuing its first mortgage-backed security in 1970, the agency has operated at the pool level. The proposed change would allow issuers to sell individual loans to one another, subject to appropriate legal and policy guardrails.

“At its very core, what I would tell you is it’s just going to simplify the ability for issuers to sell individual loans to each other,” Gormley said.

The agency is currently assessing system, legal and policy changes needed to support that transition.

He added that transparency in MBS disclosures and expanded investor education — both domestically and abroad — are also priorities.

“The more investors we have in the program, that’s going to drive affordability,” Gormley said.

Zondervan told the audience that the VA’s top priority is implementing newly granted authority to establish a partial claims program for distressed borrowers.

The law allows the agency to move forward with policy ahead of formal rulemaking. The VA is developing guidance and plans to brief congressional leaders before engaging servicers and other industry participants.

“That’s coming real soon,” Zondervan said, but he did not specify a date.

The agency is also emphasizing veteran education about the VA home loan benefit, along with financial literacy and training for lenders, servicers and real estate agents.

Zondervan said success this year would include timely implementation of the partial claims program, increased VA market share — currently about 11% to 12% — and improvements in technology used to interface with stakeholders.