With Republicans looking to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act and pass new standards that will impact MBS and ABS, the Structured Finance Industry Group recently reviewed areas for reform along with how industry participants can push for changes. The review was completed by SFIG staff and Lewis Cohen, a partner at the law firm of Hogan Lovells. “It would be a mistake to assume that a simple repeal of Dodd-Frank would be sufficient to address many of the regulatory frictions that have impeded the use of securitization to provide funding and create growth in the real economy,” SFIG said. While MBS and ABS participants have long pushed for a loosening of the mandatory risk-retention requirements set by the DFA, SFIG said...
Fannie Mae’s recent decision to provide a $1 billion financing commitment to single-family rental operator Invitation Homes has raised a few eyebrows, but for the most part it appears to be a fairly benign transaction that should benefit both parties. The arrangement was sanctioned by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which views the relationship as just another way for Fannie to finance rental housing. The rental units are 50,000 single-family residences scattered around the country – not apartment buildings. “Given the growth in the single-family rental market, FHFA considered...
A federal appeals court has rejected government efforts to reverse a September ruling by Federal Claims Court Judge Margaret Sweeney ordering the government to turn over various memos, emails and presentations to investors in litigation involving the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac net worth sweep. On Jan. 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of investors in the two government-sponsored enterprises, upholding Sweeney’s earlier decision, and ordered the government to release 48 of the 56 documents because they don’t merit privilege treatment. Eight of the documents were...
An affiliate of New Residential Investment is preparing to issue a $400.0 million ABS backed by servicer-advance receivables, according to S&P Global Ratings. The ABS relates to mortgages serviced by Ocwen Financial. NRZ Advance Receivables Trust 2015-ON1 Series 2017-T1 received preliminary AAA ratings from S&P. In addition to citing strengths in the structure of the ABS to support a AAA rating, S&P noted that it upgraded its servicer ratings for Ocwen from “below average” to “average” in September. Series 2017-T1 is...
Tom Hutchens of nonprime originator Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions said his shop presently employs 44 wholesale account executives and plans to hire 60 more over the next 18 months.
Jumbo production increased significantly for some lenders during the fourth quarter and declined for others, according to a preliminary analysis of jumbo originations. Among four banks that publicly disclose their jumbo volume, First Republic Bank and Flagstar Bancorp posted increases compared with both the third quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2015. BofI Holding and EverBank Financial reported declines in jumbo production. First Republic originated $3.06 billion of single-family ...
The number of lenders offering mortgages to foreign-national borrowers has increased significantly in recent years. The product is seen as another way for non-agency lenders to differentiate themselves, though industry analysts warn that lending to foreign nationals involves some unique risks. A foreign national is a person that resides in a country where they’re neither a citizen nor permanent resident. Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, Caliber Home Loans, Citadel Servicing ...
PennyMac Financial Services has significantly curtailed its originations of jumbo mortgages in recent years, and ended 2016 nearly out of the sector all together. PennyMac didn’t have any jumbo originations in the fourth quarter and as of the end of 2016, the nonbank only had $1.0 million in locked jumbos in its pipeline.Citigroup has entered into a subservicing agreement with Cenlar for the bank’s non-agency mortgages. Servicing is expected to be transferred ... [Includes four briefs]
FHA single-family endorsements declined 5.5 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of 2016, losing some market share, while VA saw a modest uptick in guaranteed loans, thanks to robust refinancing activity. The FHA endorsed a total of $68.3 billion of forward mortgages during the fourth quarter, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis and ranking. That brought total production over a 12-month period to $255.6 billion (excluding Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans), a 7.3 percent increase over 2015. FHA activity in the purchase market fell 13.6 percent in the fourth quarter though annual volume was up 14.3 percent from 2015. While FHA historically has been stronger in the purchase market, 2016 proved to be a more competitive year for FHA streamlined refinancing. FHA-to-FHA refinance endorsements rose 15.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the prior quarter, but ... [ 5 charts ]
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