Requirements for asset-level disclosures for certain ABS fell off of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s most recent regulatory agenda but the issue remains on the regulator’s radar, according to industry participants. Asset-level disclosure requirements for MBS and ABS have been a concern since 2010 when the SEC proposed revisions to Regulation AB. Some of the so-called Reg AB2 revisions were ultimately finalized in 2014, establishing disclosure requirements for ...

The agency single-family MBS market continued cranking along during the third quarter of 2017, but other sectors in structured finance saw weakening issuance, according to an exclusive new analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. Some $407.55 billion of MBS and ABS – excluding collateralized debt obligations and agency credit-risk transfer deals – were issued during the third quarter. That was off 4.9 percent from the previous three-month period and it ... [Includes three data charts]

Ocwen Financial has now buried the hatchet with a total of 15 states over alleged deficiencies in its compliance with laws and regulations relating to the company’s servicing and lending activities. Back in April, mortgage and banking regulators from 30 states and the District of Columbia and the state attorneys general of Florida and Massachusetts brought regulatory action against the nonbank servicer. This week, Ocwen settled with New Mexico, Virginia and West Virginia ...

The Congressional Budget Office recently issued a white paper analyzing options to reduce taxpayer exposure to FHA risk while allowing the program to continue providing affordable credit to first-time homebuyers and low-income borrowers. Although FHA continues to write high-quality, newer books of business, the CBO sees more mortgage borrowers with good credit scores, large downpayments or low debt-to-income ratios shifting to the private mortgage market ...

Mortgage originations for black and Hispanic borrowers rose significantly faster in 2016 than among whites, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of recently-released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. The HMDA report reveals that a total of $1.956 trillion of home loans were originated last year, an 18.5 percent increase over the 2015 total. Most observers believe that HMDA undercounts total mortgage originations by about 5 percent ... [Includes one data chart]

A proposal last week from federal regulators to reduce capital requirements on mortgage servicing rights for all but the largest banks was met with mostly praise from banks. “The proposal to review and refine capital rules for community banks is a step in the right direction that acknowledges what our members already know,” said Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association. “Some of the current capital requirements are keeping banks from fully serving their ...

Since early July, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have seen the share price of their common stock rise roughly 35 percent on the over-the-counter market, turning these two government wards into some of the best short-term investments among all equities. Then again, there appears to be no real reason for the run-up in trading price, though observers speculate that a Republican National Committee resolution issued earlier in the year regarding the two might have something to do with it ...

Nonbanks lack the deposit base banks have to support their investments in mortgage servicing rights, but nonbanks are seeing increased liquidity in terms of MSR financing. The government-sponsored enterprises and Ginnie Mae have also adjusted their acknowledgement agreements to make MSR financers more comfortable in the sector, with further changes likely. “In the nonbank mortgage sector, there is a big need for the financing of the MSR asset,” Vandy Fartaj, chief capital markets ...

House lawmakers grilled Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt on everything from flood insurance to the qualified-mortgage rule and credit-risk transfers during a hearing this week, but his comments regarding the evaporating capital buffers at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suggested that he’s fed up with the lack of action from Congress. Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Watt said it would be “especially irresponsible” for the two ...

Mortgage lenders haven’t yet experienced any operating headaches from the Equifax data breach this summer – but the ramifications might come slowly and not be immediately discernable. One nonbank CEO told Inside Mortgage Finance that he’s angry about the breach for two rea-sons: his personal information was stolen and it could cause business problems because warehouse banks, state licensing agencies, investors and housing authorities pull Equifax reports to check on him ...