Calvin Wong of Morningstar noted that rating shopping is most obvious in the commercial MBS market

For those lenders originating HELOCs, they will have more failed loans on their hands – that is, if the theory is proved true.

The agency single-family MBS market posted its best quarter in a year as total issuance climbed to $267.33 billion during the third quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. The combined MBS issuance of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae rose 6.6 percent from the second quarter of 2014, hitting its strongest level since the third quarter of last year. On a year-to-date basis, agency MBS remained 48.7 percent below the pace set in the first nine months of 2013. Even the long-suffering non-agency MBS market showed...[Includes two data charts]

Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $17 billion in new home-equity loans during the second quarter of 2014, a 30.8 percent increase from the previous period, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. But the volume of outstanding home-equity lines of credit and closed-end second mortgages held in portfolio by depository institutions – the biggest players in the HEL market – continued to dwindle. Banks, thrifts and credit unions reported a total of $540.4 billion of HELOCs on their books at the end of June, down 0.9 percent from March, along with a 1.5 percent drop in closed-end seconds. It continued...[Includes three data charts]

So, is now a good time to buy into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? It's a game not for the faint of heart.

Achieving simplicity would be nearly impossible and getting clarity is something that remains to be seen in the FHA’s proposed draft for identifying underwriting defects, said compliance experts. The FHA has asked for industry feedback on a draft single-family loan quality assessment methodology, which is part of the agency’s Blueprint for Access strategy announced earlier this year to expand underserved borrowers’ access to mortgage credit. The proposed methodology is based...

The vast majority of community banks plan to continue to offer mortgages even though increased regulation is limiting business, according to a survey conducted by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. Rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remain a primary concern, although many community banks already offer loans outside of the standards for qualified mortgages. “Banks continue to see opportunity in residential mortgage lending but have a mixed view of non-QM lending,” according to the report jointly compiled with the Federal Reserve. “Assessing the ability to repay and QM standards against current exposures, bankers generally identified a low level of nonconformance, suggesting the rules may generally be in line with bank practices while still requiring significant changes in operations.” Some 64 percent of the 884 community banks surveyed said...

Mortgage servicers will likely proceed more carefully with their borrower interactions after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau compelled Flagstar Bank to pay $37.5 million to settle allegations it interfered with borrowers’ attempts to save their homes. In the first enforcement action based on its new mortgage servicing rule, the CFPB ordered Flagstar to pay $27.5 million to the victims, and $10 million in to the bureau’s civil penalty fund. According to the consent order, Flagstar committed...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is not on board with its Inspector General’s recommendation that the agency direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to assess the cost and benefit of requiring lenders to get independent, third-party confirmation of their compliance with government-sponsored enterprise origination and servicing guidance. The IG audit noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as private MBS investors in the secondary mortgage market, already require annual, independent assurance of counterparty compliance. “The annual assertions and audits have helped...

Ginnie Mae is taking a closer look at change-of-control applications from issuers and servicers, according to investment banking advisors who work in mortgage industry mergers and acquisitions. “Ginnie is toughening up the change-of-control process to keep folks who got their tickets – and don’t use them – from trying to increase the value of their company in an M&A situation,” said one advisor who represents clients before the agency. He noted...