The Treasury Department issued a wide-ranging request for comments last week as part of an effort to increase issuance of non-agency mortgage-backed securities. Treasury officials said they are working toward developing standards and practices for the non-agency MBS market. “The private-label securities market has been dormant since the financial crisis,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. “The fact is, we need to attract more private capital to the housing market ...
One MI CEO, who we called, said this: “Thanks for reaching out. We, along with the other MIs are currently in confidential discussions with FHFA and the GSEs regarding the new standards. Unfortunately, we cannot comment until they are public.”
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued $141.83 billion of single-family MBS during the second quarter, an encouraging 9.4 percent increase from the dreary levels recorded in the first three months of 2014.
Then again, there are different definitions of what constitutes a “re-performing” mortgage. Most of the loans trading in this market are modified loans that have six to 12 months of seasoning and a clean cash-flow history.