Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of all purchase loans funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have a debt-to-income ratio greater than the qualified mortgage limit of 43 percent, according to the February 2014 National Mortgage Risk Index released by the conservative American Enterprise Institute’s International Center on Housing Risk. Researchers found no discernible impact on the purchase loan market from the CFPB’s QM regulation.“In February, half of agency loans had a down payment of 5 percent or less, nearly one-in-four agency loans had a DTI ratio greater than 43 percent, and one-in-eight agency loans had a FICO score of less than 660,” the AEI said.

The CFPB issued its first Freedom of Information Act report last week, finding that the bureau’s average response time for all simple “processed perfected requests” was 8.36 days with virtually no backlog.The average response time for complex requests was 31 days. The bureau defines a “processed perfected request” as “a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed,” and for which the bureau has taken final action in every respect.

The CFPB and five other federal financial regulators issued a proposed rule last week that would implement minimum requirements for state registration and supervision of appraisal management companies. The minimum requirements would apply to states that voluntarily elect to establish an appraiser certifying and licensing agency with the authority to register and supervise AMCs. Under the proposed rule, participating states would require that an AMC register in the state and be subject to its supervision, and use only state-certified or licensed appraisers for federally related transactions, such as real estate-related financial transactions overseen by a federal financial institution regulatory agency that require appraiser services.

Some banks and thrifts have been able to originate enough new mortgages to replace runoff from their portfolios, but the industry’s retained holdings of first-lien mortgages continued to decline in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Banks and thrifts held a total of $1.74 trillion in first-lien mortgages as of the end of 2013, down only 3.0 percent compared with the end of 2012 ... [Includes one data chart]

Lowering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits is one of the easiest levers the federal government could pull to increase non-agency participation in the mortgage market but most market participants favor keeping them at their current levels. In December, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that it was considering reducing the loan “purchase limits” for the government-sponsored enterprises. Under the plan, the GSEs could not purchase loans exceeding ...

In the end, it's all about yield, which is why investors are going after "esoteric" ABS. Will non-prime MBS ever stage a comeback, even a mini-comeback?

The private equity plaintiffs allege that the Treasury’s change in the dividend structure of its preferred stock leaves the GSEs with no funds to pay anything to junior shareholders.

Agreeing to speak only on background, some mortgage participants thought that ORI’s recapitalization plan raised serious concerns among potential investors.

The serious delinquency rate on servicer portfolios hasn’t improved much in the past year, from 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Investors plan to increase their holdings in what are known as esoteric ABS – such as container, timeshare, whole business and franchise loans, structured settlements and solar and renewables – more so than consumer or commercial ABS, according to a new survey from the DBRS credit rating agency. Higher-yield opportunities are likely a key reason investors will look toward esoteric assets in a period of exceptionally low interest rates, the survey found. “Over the next 12 months, market participants are...[Includes two data charts]