The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced enforcement actions on Wednesday against four private mortgage insurers left standing after the financial market collapse, putting the squeeze on the industry’s use of captive reinsurance arrangements, which ceased when the financial markets collapsed, and fining the four companies relatively small, token amounts.

The independent foreclosure review process established by federal regulators for 14 servicers was “deeply flawed,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, said on Thursday in response to a report on the reviews by the Government Accountability Office. Waters said she will introduce legislation next week to address problems relating to use of outside contractors for enforcement actions.

The creation of a “sustainable housing finance policy” and an end to the “too big to fail” oversight approach with large banks top April’s to-do list for the House Financial Services Committee when Congress returns from its two-week spring recess next week.

The non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security market expanded significantly in the first quarter of 2013, with more new issuance than was produced in all of last year, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. Issuance showed no signs of slowing down entering the second quarter, led by Redwood Trust. Some $3.95 billion in non-agency jumbo MBS was issued in the first quarter, compared with $3.46 billion in issuance in all of last year. The last time non-agency ... [Includes one data chart]

Funding for the housing programs administered by the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service will not be subject to sequestration even though mandatory budget cuts are now being implemented across the board at all federal agencies.

Moody’s Investors Service said it would not have given its highest rating to the jumbo mortgage-backed security issued last week by JPMorgan Chase because of concerns about the deal’s representation and warranty framework and the lack of risk retention by Chase. DBRS, Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency gave JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2013-1 AAA ratings with credit enhancement of 7.40 percent on the top-rated tranche. The rating services said the credit enhancement on the deal was ...

With banks starting to issue jumbo mortgage-backed securities instead of holding originations in portfolio, the sector has expanded beyond the two nonbanks that propped up non-agency jumbo MBS issuance since 2010. The activity shows favorable economics for non-agency MBS, including tighter spreads on interest rates between conforming mortgages and non-agency jumbos. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage was 3.596 percent this week, according to Inside Mortgage Finance ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered lower losses on their nonprime mortgage holdings in 2012 compared with previous years as mortgage performance has stabilized and investor demand for vintage non-agency mortgage-backed securities has increased. However, the government-sponsored enterprises have not realized profits on their vintage non-agency MBS holdings as they have employed a buy-and-hold strategy since 2008. The GSEs held a combined $103.4 billion of nonprime MBS in portfolio and ... [Includes one data chart]

Springleaf Financial is set to issue another subprime mortgage-backed security backed by vintage originations. The fifth deal from Springleaf since 2011 shows continued demand from investors for non-agency MBS. Springleaf’s $835.11 million MBS will receive a AAA rating with loss coverage of 55.5 percent on the top-rated tranche, according to a presale report released this week by Standard & Poor’s. The average seasoning of the loans is seven years. As with previous Springleaf deals, all of ...

Nationstar Mortgage clarified that the non-agency MBS it plans to issue in the second quarter of 2013 is an asset-backed security with servicing advances from non-agency mortgages. Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance, a unit of Genworth Financial, Inc., announced on Friday that it will offer 24 training classes in April to help mortgage lenders and servicers improve their efficiency and build their business. Fannie Mae President and CEO Tim Mayopoulos said this week that it would be a “mistake” for official Washington to allow the prospect of the newly profitable GSEs to continue to slow walk efforts on housing finance reform.