Weicher Out?

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is cleaning house, and it appears that John Weicher, the federal housing commissioner, is being forced out.Sources are telling MortgageWire that Mr. Weicher will be leaving the Federal Housing Administration by April 30. Other political appointees are being fired, but there has been no official announcement. There are rumors that Mr. Weicher might be appointed president of Ginnie Mae (a position that is currently vacant), but it could not be confirmed. Mr. Weicher has served at HUD in three administrations and has been FHA commissioner since 2001. He was previously a resident scholar at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank. During his tenure, the FHA implemented an automated underwriting system and clamped down on loan flipping and other predatory lending practices. The agency also tried to hold lenders more accountable for the performance of their loans. Despite these efforts, the FHA single-family program continues to have a high default rate, and FHA loan volumes have been declining.