FHA plans to require borrowers to produce more cash for down payments

By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Federal Housing Administration plans to increase the amount of up-front cash paid by all new borrowers and to require higher down payments from those with the poorest credit, according to agency officials.
These policy changes, scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, are part of the agency's effort to beef up its ailing finances, which have been eroded by rising defaults in its increasingly popular flagship mortgage insurance program. The FHA currently backs about 30 percent of all loans for home purchases and 20 percent of refinanced loans...