New FHA endorsements and VA home loan guaranty volume were both down significantly in the first quarter, but the two programs followed different paths to mostly similar results. A new Inside FHA/VA Lending ranking and analysis shows that endorsements of FHA forward mortgages slipped 10.5 percent from the fourth quarter to $48.96 billion. That was the lowest quarterly output for the program since early 2015, when just $39.48 billion of FHA forward loans were originated. In the VA program, new loan guarantees fell 11.1 percent from the fourth quarter to $39.06 billion. That was the lowest three-month total since the first lap in 2016, with $37.09 billion produced. Most of the decline in FHA business was in purchase-mortgage lending, which fell 13.5 percent from the fourth quarter. While purchase loans still accounted for a hefty 71.1 percent of FHA forward endorsements during the ... [Charts]

Minority borrowers applying for an FHA or VA first-lien purchase mortgage were more likely to be denied than comparable white borrowers, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of 2017 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. This finding was no surprise because the denial rates reflected the same historical trends for white and minority borrowers over the years. Approximately 727,865 FHA/VA loans went to white borrowers last year. Of the 978,981 government-insured loan applications submitted by white borrowers, 9.07 percent were denied. Of the 231,108 black borrowers who applied for a government-backed home loan, lenders rejected 14.57 percent. Out of the 285,707 FHA/VA loan applications submitted by Hispanics, lenders denied 11.42 percent. Asian borrowers submitted the least number of FHA/VA loan applications, 44,739. Lenders denied 11.36 percent. For FHA, the ... [Chart]

As soon as next week, the House could vote to approve a regulatory relief bill that already passed the Senate. Among numerous other provisions, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act would grant qualified mortgage status to certain loans held in portfolio by smaller banks even if the mortgages would otherwise be non-QMs. Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, also said ... [Includes four briefs]

Flagstar Bank is set to issue a non-agency mortgage-backed security stocked solely with investment-property mortgages eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises. The issuance is a first in the post-crisis era and it suggests that Flagstar expects better execution in the non-agency market than from delivering the loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Flagstar Mortgage Trust 2018-3INV will be a $329.1 million issuance, according to presale reports published ...

The second prime non-agency mortgage-backed security from an affiliate of American International Group is a lot like the MBS the company issued in March, but the new deal received favorable treatment from the rating services, with lower credit enhancement on the senior tranche. PSMC 2018-2 Trust will be a $429.4 million issuance, according to presale reports published last week. The mortgages have an average credit score of 773, an average debt-to-income ratio of 33.0 percent ...

Impac Mortgage Holdings is putting more emphasis on originating non-qualified mortgages, with officials noting that the loans offer much better margins than conventional mortgages. Impac originated $248.2 million of non-QMs in the first quarter of 2018, up 5.6 percent from the previous cycle and a 34.7 percent increase from a year ago. Non-QMs accounted for 18.8 percent of Impac’s production in early 2018 compared with a 14.2 percent share in the previous quarter and an ...

Redwood Trust boosted its net income in the first quarter of 2018 and continued to increase its originations of expanded-credit mortgages. The real estate investment trust is seeing strong demand for the loans in the secondary market and Redwood is set to issue its largest expanded-credit mortgage-backed security to date. Redwood had $46.9 million in net income in the quarter, up 51.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 and up 26.7 percent from a year ago. The company sold ...

Mortgage-backed security investors remain interested in non-qualified mortgages, though the hot market may be cooling off. A particularly large non-QM MBS from an affiliate of Western Asset Management Company was delayed in closing and downsized slightly as some firms suggest that returns in the market slipped in the first quarter. WAMC’s Arroyo Mortgage Trust 2018-1 was initially sized at $1.25 billion, according to presale reports published near the end of April by ...

California continues to account for the largest share of non-agency jumbo originations but it lost some market share in 2017, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Some $317.29 billion of jumbos were originated in 2017, down 9.7 percent from the previous year. The analysis is based on originations of first-lien, single-family mortgages, with loan-limits determined at the county level. Originations of ... [Includes one data chart]

Caliber Home Loans has announced pricing of a uniquely structured private offering of secured term notes backed by Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights and excess servicing spreads.