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What changes did Ginnie Mae make to how FHA loans are counted as delinquent?

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Ginnie Mae will temporarily exclude FHA loans in Trial Payment Plans from issuer delinquency ratio calculations for compliance purposes.

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Effective dateMonthly reporting due April 2, 2026, covering March 2026 data
Scope of changeLoans in TPPs excluded from delinquency ratios for compliance, but still reported as delinquent in standard monthly loan-level reporting
DurationTemporary, with at least 60 days' notice required before returning to standard calculation
Reason for changeFHA's 2025 waterfall update reinstituted required TPPs before other loss mitigation options, increasing TPP volumes and artificially raising delinquency rates
FHA delinquency trendFHA delinquencies averaged 9.2% from October 2025 through February 2026, up 90 basis points year-over-year
Announcement dateApril 24, 2026, by Ginnie Mae President Joseph Gormley

What changed

Ginnie Mae announced it will temporarily exclude loans in Federal Housing Administration Trial Payment Plans from issuer delinquency calculations for compliance purposes. This means TPP loans will not count toward an issuer's delinquency ratio when measuring regulatory compliance, though they will continue to be reported as delinquent in standard monthly loan-level reporting.

Why the change was needed

The FHA updated its single-family loss mitigation waterfall in 2025, reinstating required Trial Payment Plans as a mandatory step before borrowers can access other loss mitigation solutions like partial claims. As servicers evaluated more delinquent FHA loans under this new structure, the volume of loans in TPP status increased significantly, pushing issuer delinquency rates higher. Ginnie Mae determined this spike was temporary and driven by the longer resolution timeline created by the TPP requirement, not by deteriorating mortgage credit performance.

Impact on delinquency metrics

National delinquency rates reached 3.72% in February 2026, with FHA mortgages accounting for more than 80% of the recent increase. FHA delinquencies in Ginnie Mae pools averaged 9.2% from October 2025 through February 2026, up 90 basis points from the prior year. However, early-stage metrics remained stable, with new delinquencies averaging 5.2% and 60-day delinquencies around 1.8%, suggesting credit quality had not materially deteriorated.

Implementation details

The policy change took effect with monthly reporting due April 2, 2026, covering March 2026 data. Ginnie Mae will regularly monitor the impact of TPP loans on issuer delinquency performance and will provide at least 60 days' notice before returning to standard delinquency calculations through a future memorandum.

Future outlook

Ginnie Mae expects TPP volumes to normalize as the FHA's new loss mitigation policy matures. The corporation also signaled it expects to review its delinquency threshold policy more broadly in the context of today's marketplace, indicating potential longer-term changes to how delinquency risk is measured and enforced for issuers.

Sources

  1. Ginnie Mae to pause counting FHA TPP loans as delinquent (housingwire.com)
  2. Ginnie Mae pauses delinquency rules amid FHA waterfall shift (nationalmortgagenews.com)

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