The Sad Story of Auction-Rate SecuritiesBarron's -May 25, 2008In the general credit crisis, buyers and sellers grew skittish about companies that insured municipal ARS, rising default rates on student loans and CDOs' ... FHA (HUD0 insures then insures the loan and pays the lender if the borrower defaults on the mortgage. The protection offered by FHA mortgages to lenders allows them to be more liberal with their terms than the prospective homeowner might otherwise obtain.