Congress is reportedly considering a legislative proposal to charge higher guarantee fees for VA mortgages to cover healthcare costs of Korean and Vietnam War veterans who were ex-posed to herbicides, such as Agent Orange and other toxic agents.

A Wall Street lobbying group has urged the Department of Veteran Affairs to change its cash-out refinance interim final rule, calling par-ticular attention to the net tangible benefit provision.

Industry representatives are urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to delay an interim final rule on VA cash-out refinance loans for fear that lenders may stop offering the product.

Government-backed originations fell significantly in the fourth quarter of 2018 due to a decline in purchase lending even as year-over-year results reflected the uncertainty in last year’s government-backed mortgage market. [Includes three data charts.]

Several key issues remain unresolved as the securitization industry attempts to move away from the London Interbank Offered Rate. It’s not clear which parties should enact transitions away from the benchmark rate and, moreover, a replacement hasn’t been developed yet.

The commercial MBS market is expected to stay healthy this year due to sound underwriting standards and strong investor demand, said an analyst.

Securitizations backed by oil and gas royalties likely will be issued this year, according to Fitch Ratings. The agency updated its future flow securitization rating criteria last week in anticipation of such ABS issuance.

SoFi’s first consumer loan securitization deal this year will include a higher portion of loans from the company’s lowest credit tier, but rating agencies said the credit quality of the transaction is stronger than its previous consumer loan ABS deals.

“HARP is dead, long live High LTV Refinance programs!” That’s the title of a recent report by structured finance analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the impact HARP’s replacements will have on the government-sponsored enterprises’ credit-risk transfer programs.

New Residential Investment Corp., one of the fastest growing mortgage real estate investment trusts in the U.S., has an overseas fan in Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. of Taipei City, Taiwan.