According to the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, the Lender should establish a process for selecting loans for pre-funding quality control loan reviews and that those who are performing the review must be completely separate from the loan origination process. When establishing pre-funding quality control loan reviews, the Lender should take into account the risks inherent in its established origination process, volume of loans, and product mixes. The Lender should make sure to include loans that have been identified as having a higher risk for errors or fraud. These could include loans with complex income calculations, that have properties located in an area with a high delinquency rate, and those that were originated or processed by a new loan officer. The method used for the sample loan selection should be regularly reviewed by management so as to ensure its effectiveness.
The pre-funding quality control loan process has to include a review of certain data points and documents for accuracy and completeness. Fannie Mae has stated that a Lender must review: the data entered into an AUS; Social Security Number(s); income calculations and any supporting documentation; employment documentation (this does include verbal verifications); assets needed to close; the appraisal (if one was ordered); and documentation of adequate mortgage insurance coverage. This is just the minimum that Fannie Mae requires to be reviewed and it is up to the Lender to perform a more expansive review if necessary. Fannie Mae has made a few caveats to this process. If income or assets were validated by DU, then the Lender is not required to perform any recalculations as part of their pre-funding quality control loan review. Also, it is up to the Lender to ensure that all of the information entered into DU is appropriate and the Lender should investigate any inconsistencies that appear in the loan file.
For reporting the pre-funding quality control loan reviews, the Lender should establish a process to report any defects that were found. This has to include: monthly reporting to senior management; communicating with parties that could resolve these defects; and documenting any resolution of the defects. The reports must have more than just a summary report of all of the findings. They must also contain a description of the sample selection along with any defect trending information.
Regulatory Solutions is available to assist you. Just visit our pre-funding/pre-closing quality control reviews page. Regulatory Solutions will provide you with the independent solution you need to ensure your prefunding files are reviewed in accordance with agency guidelines.