The recent market tumult caused by suggestions that the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program (QE3) may soon be tapering off is likely over, and price adjustments may have created good buying opportunities in the non-agency MBS sector, according to analysts. With less than $1 trillion in MBS still outstanding in the market, and very few higher-yield investment options around, non-agency MBS remains a good investment choice, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts Chris Flanagan, Ryan Asato and Justin Borst. In their latest market analysis, the BAML researchers said...

Nationstar Mortgage, which has been feasting on legacy packages of mortgage servicing rights the past three years, recently priced $2 billion of asset-backed term notes and variable funding notes. The term notes are for $1 billion, as are the VFNs. The debt carries a weighted average rate of 2.10 percent and a term of three years. The notes replace $1.9 billion of existing non-agency advance facilities “and are expected to result in a reduction in rate of 1.75 percent, the nonbank servicer said. When Nationstar and other well-heeled servicers buy...

The Supreme Court of the United States is expected to announce on Monday, June 17, whether it will grant the petition for certiorari in the disparate impact case of Township of Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc.

The outlook for Federal Reserve policy and any adjustments to its $85 billion per month agency MBS buying spree depends a great deal on how the U.S. housing market evolves during the second quarter through the end of this year, according to analysts from Standard & Poor’s. Robert Keiser, vice president of Global Markets Intelligence at S&P Capital IQ, told attendees of an S&P webinar this week that all the signs point to the Fed specifically targeting housing in the third installment of its quantitative easing policy (QE3) as an instrument to stimulate economic growth. “The Fed recognizes...

The amount of home-equity loans held by depository institutions continued to decline in early 2013, with little sign that banks, thrifts and credit unions are likely to ramp up their lending in the near future, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking.

The linchpin for a viable and comprehensive National Mortgage Database is to ensure that the identities of both mortgage borrowers and mortgage servicers from whom the statistical information is collected for analysis are protected behind a firm wall of security countermeasures, according to project architects.

Ocwen Financial announced on Thursday that it will purchase the vast majority of OneWest Bank’s servicing portfolio. The special servicer is set to acquire $78 billion in unpaid principal balance of mortgage servicing rights and related servicing advance receivables for $2.53 billion.

Overt acts of housing discrimination may have declined significantly but subtle forms of racial bias continue against minority home purchasers or renters nationwide, according to a new study released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Urban Institute.

Officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau claim that lenders will originate home loans that don’t meet the new qualified mortgage standard, though industry participants have been skeptical due to the liability involved with such loans. Raj Date, the former deputy director of the CFPB, announced last week that his new firm will indeed originate non-QMs, with an initial focus on non-agency jumbo mortgages. “It’s an example of a great market opportunity where we can ...

Bank and thrift holdings of mortgages were higher in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a year ago, driven by originations of nonconforming loans. While two banks have started to securitize jumbo mortgages, the vast majority of jumbo originations remain in portfolio. Bank holdings of first-lien mortgages hit $1.78 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2013, up 2.2 percent from the first quarter of 2012, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets ... [Includes one data chart]