Although reform of the government-sponsored enterprises is highly unlikely this year, community lenders went to Capitol Hill this week, testifying that equal opportunity in the secondary market and preserving the cash window are sacred tenets that cannot be compromised. At a GSE reform hearing late this week, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, called small lenders “fixtures in their communities” with local knowledge and expertise. “As we prepare to reform the system we must understand how small lenders access the market,” he said. Many community lenders access...
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its long-awaited rule banning mandatory arbitration in consumer financial contracts. The industry concern is that, if left intact, the rule could lead to a rash of litigation impairing liquidity in the secondary markets and limiting consumer access to credit as companies seek to pull back on their risk exposure. The final rule prohibits “covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services from using an agreement with a consumer that provides for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties to bar the consumer from filing or participating in a class action concerning the covered consumer financial product or service.” It further requires...
Issuance of single-family rental securitizations has been lagging this year, but a new offering from Progress Residential suggests that demand for deals could be headed northward. In a somewhat uncommon move last week, Progress increased a planned issuance after presale reports on the deal were already published. “The transaction sponsor elected...
A few months back, Citadel Servicing Corp., Irvine, CA, was eyeing the May/June period as the target date for its first nonprime mortgage-backed security. Now that July is almost over, it’s eyeing the fall – if that. According to company founder and CEO Dan Perl, prices being paid in the whole loan market for its high-yielding loans are just too good to turn down. Perl indicated that for his company, at least, the economics of a whole loan transaction are just too favorable right now. Although he could not be too specific on pricing, the industry veteran indicated...
A sharp increase in business-finance ABS issuance offset declines in other sectors to lift overall ABS production during the second quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. The market produced $59.31 billion of new non-mortgage ABS during the second quarter, an 11.1 percent increase over the first three months of the year. That brought year-to-date issuance up to $112.68 billion, a 30.4 percent gain over the first six months of 2016. The star performer was...[Includes two data tables]
Pacific Investment Management Company published an opinion piece this week calling for changes in the non-agency market before policymakers enact reforms that affect the government-sponsored enterprises. PIMCO was also critical of other GSE reform proposals. “Without a functioning private mortgage market, it will be nearly impossible for the GSEs to shrink their footprint without significant disruption to the housing market and to the underlying homeownership rate,” PIMCO said. PIMCO was...
In a recent ruling, the Nevada Supreme Court decided that in the case of Nationstar Mortgage, LLC v. SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC, a homeowner’s association priority lien cannot extinguish a first deed of trust in an HOA foreclosure sale. This is a win for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Twenty-two states have super-lien laws that allow HOAs to take priority over first mortgages and foreclose the property to collect unpaid fees of up to six months’ worth. In 2014, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that an HOA could indeed extinguish a senior mortgage. But Nationstar Mortgage argued...
With the new data collection and reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act now less than six months away, anxious industry calls for regulatory relief met with some limited success recently, while others continue to urge a broader extension of the implementation period. Late last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau relented somewhat, proposing to temporarily ease HMDA reporting requirements for lenders that make a small number of home equity lines of credit. The agency proposed raising the threshold for HELOC reporting from 100 loans to 500 loans, starting in January 2018. Officials acknowledged they may have...
The House Appropriations Committee this week approved a fiscal year 2018 funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development with a $135 million allocation for systems enhancements, quality control and risk management improvements in lieu of a proposed lender fee. Approved by a vote of 31 to 20, the bill provides HUD with $38.3 billion in discretionary funding for FY 2018, down $487 million from the current level. The House measure authorizes...
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