bivey@imfnews.com

Lenders funded an estimated $52.3 billion of expanded-credit mortgages in 2019, up 17.0% on an annual basis, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by Inside Nonconforming Markets.

The sector includes non-qualified mortgages and other non-jumbos not eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises or Ginnie Mae.

Although ECM lending increased, by comparison total first-lien production surged by 45.7% last year, reducing the sector’s market share to 2.2% from 2.7% in 2018. The growth gap between the expanded-credit and the broader market can be partially attributed to a decline in interest rates.

“Lower interest rates mean more GSE refinance activity and less of a focus [by loan originators] on the non-agency market,” said Kent Smith, an executive vice president and portfolio manager at PIMCO, a firm that invests in non-QMs. For more details and exclusive rankings of the nation’s top ECM funders, see the new edition of Inside Nonconforming Markets, now available online.