The Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund is the pool of money that backs FHA’s single‑family mortgage insurance. When a borrower takes an FHA‑insured loan, they pay upfront and annual mortgage‑insurance premiums into this fund. If the borrower later defaults and the lender has to foreclose, FHA pays the lender’s approved claim out of the MMI Fund. Because lenders know the fund will cover most losses on FHA‑insured loans, they are willing to lend to borrowers with lower down payments and more flexible credit profiles. The fund covers FHA’s single‑family "forward" mortgages (purchase and refinance) and, since 2009, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgages, so its health directly supports FHA’s ability to keep offering these products.
FHA’s "Capital Ratio" is a simple solvency measure for the MMI Fund: it equals the fund’s economic value (its capital, or assets minus expected future claims) divided by the total unpaid principal balance of all FHA‑insured loans in the fund (“insurance‑in‑force”). For example, an 11.47% capital ratio means FHA has about $11.47 of capital for every $100 of insured mortgage principal. Congress amended the National Housing Act in 1990 to require FHA to build and maintain at least a 2.0% capital ratio for the MMI Fund. The intent was to ensure the fund holds a cushion against future losses under normal and moderately adverse economic conditions and to reduce the chance that taxpayers would have to bail it out.
The overall Capital Ratio looks at the health of the entire MMI Fund, combining both FHA’s single‑family forward mortgages and its HECM reverse mortgage portfolio. In FY 2025 this combined ratio was 11.47%. The "stand‑alone" capital ratio for the forward mortgage portfolio isolates just the traditional purchase and refinance loans; it was 10.95% in FY 2025. FHA also calculates a separate capital ratio for the HECM reverse‑mortgage portfolio (24.06% in FY 2025). The difference matters because forward and reverse mortgages have different risks and cash‑flow patterns, so looking at portfolio‑specific ratios shows which side of the fund is stronger or weaker even when the combined ratio looks high.
The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is FHA’s reverse‑mortgage program. It is the only reverse mortgage insured by the U.S. government and is available only through FHA‑approved lenders. It is designed for homeowners age 62 or older who live in the home as their primary residence. Instead of making monthly payments, the borrower can draw on their home equity as a lump sum, monthly payments, or a line of credit, and the loan is repaid when the borrower dies, sells the home, or moves out permanently. HECM is typically used by older homeowners to supplement retirement income, pay for home repairs or medical costs, or eliminate an existing mortgage so they can age in place without a monthly mortgage payment.
IT Data Consulting (ITDC) is a private consulting firm based in Reston, Virginia, that provides advanced analytics, information‑technology, and management‑consulting services to government agencies and others. HUD contracts with ITDC to serve as FHA’s independent actuary for the MMI Fund. In this role, ITDC builds actuarial models of FHA’s forward and HECM portfolios, projecting future defaults, prepayments, recoveries, and cash flows. It then estimates the economic value of each portfolio and the resulting capital ratios, and checks whether FHA’s internal estimates and assumptions are reasonable. This independent actuarial review is a required outside check on the numbers FHA reports to Congress about the MMI Fund’s financial condition.
To "cut red tape" in its Single Family programs, FHA recently rescinded more than a dozen sub‑regulatory policies that added cost and paperwork without clear benefit. Key changes include: (1) removing outdated, extra appraisal procedures to better align with industry standards and speed up valuations; (2) dropping the requirement that Direct Endorsement underwriters be full‑time employees, allowing lenders to use part‑time staff and manage costs more flexibly; (3) eliminating mandatory collection of the Supplemental Consumer Information Form (SCIF); (4) rescinding application of the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) to new construction eligibility, which FHA said would have restricted buildable land and raised construction costs; and (5) ending mandatory pre‑endorsement property inspections in presidentially declared disaster areas, instead letting lenders use risk‑based judgment. These rollbacks are what HUD is referring to when it says it “eliminated significant bureaucratic red tape” in Single Family programs.
FHA’s insurance makes it possible for lenders to offer mortgages that are much more accessible to first‑time buyers than many conventional loans. Because FHA promises to reimburse lenders for most losses if a borrower defaults, lenders can accept: (1) low down payments—as little as 3.5% of the purchase price for qualified borrowers; (2) more flexible credit scores and debt‑to‑income ratios; and (3) the use of gifts or government down‑payment assistance programs to cover much of the upfront cash. FHA also limits certain fees and allows some closing costs to be financed into the loan. In practice, this means many renters with limited savings or thinner credit histories can qualify for a mortgage who might otherwise be denied. Reflecting this role, first‑time buyers accounted for over 83% of FHA‑insured purchase mortgages in FY 2025.