Palisades Group issued a $112.1 million securitization on June 30 that included home equity investment assets from multiple companies, a first for the growing sector.
To this point, Freddie has issued multifamily risk-sharing transactions without ratings. The Morningstar DBRS rating could open these multifamily CRT deals to institutions that only invest in rated transactions.
Researchers tracked ratings and defaults on non-agency MBS between 2013 and 2022, finding that Morningstar’s ratings were more conservative than ratings from the big three firms. However, Morningstar’s ratings produced more “false alarms” about potential defaults than the big firms.
FHFA said lenders can now use VantageScore 4.0 when underwriting GSE loans. It’s not clear, though, if the mortgage industry is ready to take advantage of the opportunity.
The FHLBanks responded forcefully to complaints that they fail to live up to their affordable housing mission and that they are a threat to the financial system.