Banks need incentives to issue non-agency mortgage-backed securities instead of holding loans in portfolio, according to boosters of the non-agency MBS market. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policies and capital requirements set by federal regulators have played a role in the shift from non-agency MBS issuance to banks holding loans in portfolio. “Historically, major banks were the predominant sponsors of private-label securities transactions, especially for 30-year jumbo fixed-rate loans, which are not a good asset/liability match for their balance sheets,” officials at Redwood Trust noted in a comment letter submitted to the Treasury Department. In June, the Treasury issued a request for comments on how to increase non-agency activity in the mortgage market. In 2013, only 4.8 percent of the estimated $272.0 billion in non-agency jumbo originations were included...

FHA Commissioner Carol Galante is slated to depart the agency in a few weeks, leaving in her wake a healthier Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, but her withdrawal comes amid gripes from some lenders that agency premiums are too high, hurting the first-time homebuyer market. Several industry officials give Galante high marks for not caving to industry pressure on reducing FHA premiums, and for trying to build bridges to originators at a time when the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Justice Department continue to target lenders for their “legacy” production. One consultant who represents FHA lenders said...

The market for “legacy” mortgage servicing rights has been on ice since earlier this year because of regulatory scrutiny, but there’s a new school of thought that suggests the halcyon days of mega transactions might be over for good. Servicing advisors who work in the MSR market note that the “Lawsky effect” is still being felt by Ocwen Financial and some of its peers, but as time goes on it will be less of a factor. “There’s...

Mortgage delinquencies increased slightly in the second quarter of 2014 compared with the previous quarter, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index. However, delinquency rates adjusted for seasonal factors showed a decline from the first three months of the year, and the unadjusted rate was down from a year. The total delinquency rate for 23 large servicers, with no seasonal adjustment, hit 6.59 percent at the end of the second quarter, up from 6.52 percent the previous quarter but down from 7.33 percent in the second quarter of 2013. “We have returned...[Includes one data chart]

The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Wells Fargo and co-defendant Long & Foster in a class-action dispute involving an affiliated business arrangement. In Minter v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA et al, plaintiffs/appellants Denise Minter, Jason and Rachel Alborough, and Lizbeth Binks brought suit on behalf of a group of consumers alleging that Wells Fargo and Long & Foster Real Estate violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that defendants created a joint venture, Prosperity Mortgage Co., to skirt RESPA’s prohibition on kickbacks in exchange for the referrals of settlement service business while failing to disclose this business arrangement to its customers. Here’s...

When consumers were directed to Amerisave’s website, the lender gave quotes based on an 800 FICO score, even where consumers had previously entered a FICO score below 800, the agency said.

“The government presumably feels emboldened from the decisions that it’s been getting, and we anticipate that those will continue in the near future,” one mortgage buyback expert said.

As IMFnews went to press, no other details were available on the transaction, including the identity of the seller or whether the product is “newly originated” or “legacy” in nature.

According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, Freedom grew second quarter originations by almost 49 percent, the best sequential gain for any top 10 ranked lender.

Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest servicer, has assigned an 80 basis point value to its residential MSR portfolio, but the nation’s number-two servicer, JPMorgan Chase, has its MSRs booked at 106 bps…