The ability-to-repay rule helped improve loan performance for non-qualified mortgages but a robust secondary market for the loans hasn’t developed, according to an analysis by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The loans included in expanded-credit mortgage-backed securities in the fourth quarter of 2018 had on average tighter underwriting than previous issuance. [Includes one data chart.]

Two prominent players in the jumbo market reported mixed trends in originations for the fourth quarter. First Republic Bank’s single-family mortgage originations increased slightly on a sequential basis, while Flagstar Bank saw a sharp drop in jumbo lending.

HUD receives share in settlement under False Claim Act; Implementation date for EAD system postponed; Issuance of HMBS declines year over year.

Ginnie Mae has not yet decided a date for its 2019 annual summit but it may be “soon,” said an agency spokesman.

Conventional and VA-backed home mortgages are the most common type of mortgage products that servicemembers complained about to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to the agency’s latest analysis.

The real estate industry is calling for the immediate release of the long-overdue final FHA condominium rules to enable more projects to qualify for FHA-insured financing.

The recent government shutdown had a minimal impact on mortgage lending activity partly due to its timing. The 35-day shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, coincided with the holiday season, which is typically a slow time for the housing market.

Ginnie Mae’s plan to reduce the number of small issuers of mortgage-backed securities could increase the agency’s risk and make it harder for those issuers to remain in the program, warned the Community Home Lenders Association.

Ginnie Mae this week barred loanDepot from securitizing VA loans in Ginnie Mae I and multi-issuer pools as part of its efforts to curb loan churning and rapid prepayments.