Servicing workers, in particular, feel like they have a target on their backs, thanks to outsourcing and other factors...

The non-agency MBS market sputtered to its weakest new issuance volume in a year during the third quarter of 2015, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. A total of $9.43 billion of non-agency MBS were issued during the third quarter, down 39.7 percent from the second quarter. Thanks to a strong start in the first half of 2015 – and weak new issuance during the same time last year – year-to-date production was up 47.5 percent from the first nine months of 2014. The two mainstays that have been propping up non-agency MBS issuance have been...[Includes two data tables]

The Collingwood Group, a Washington-based consultancy that built its practice on Ginnie Mae work and issues tied to the government-sponsored enterprises, has received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to open a broker/dealer unit. The new division is called Collingwood Capital Advisors and will be headed by Mark DeGennaro, who joined TCG as a managing director in February 2011 to head what was then a new effort to build the consultancy’s hedge fund/private equity group. Although Collingwood Capital is now a registered broker/dealer, it will not be involved...

The performance of U.S. residential MBS keeps getting better, thanks mostly to favorable economic conditions, but the effects of greater regulatory oversight and intervention can be positive or negative, and sometimes both, depending on what hat a participant in the secondary market wears, according to experts at Moody’s Investors Service. “RMBS performance continues to improve, and that’s mainly because of the confluence of two factors: fewer borrowers are becoming delinquent for the first time because of the economy, and re-default rates on loans which have been modified – which is a significant share of the population of private-label MBS loans – continue to be stable,” said Youriy Koudinov, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s. “The second point we want to convey is...

Did anyone expect the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury to be hovering at just over 2.0 percent as November approached? Not really, but the recent downdraft in rates has once again caused bond prices – MBS in particular – to increase, a development warming the hearts of investors. Then again, MBS investors hedging their positions might be...

A new loan origination defects and remedies framework to reduce buybacks was released by the government-sponsored enterprises last week, and lenders who spoke with Inside MBS & ABS said it may not be groundbreaking, but it is a step in the right direction. Jeremy Potter, general counsel and chief compliance officer with Norcom Mortgage, said, “We were really happy with the outcome. It seems like the industry has been working with them and this is a good team effort.” He said...

The Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has warned users not to rely on Ginnie Mae’s fiscal years 2011-2014 financial statements after expressing displeasure over the agency’s inadequate explanation of material misstatements identified during a 2014 audit. The warning came in a memorandum the HUD IG issued in response to Ginnie’s restatement notification on Sept. 16, 2015, commenting on the fiscal 2014 audit report. The audit left certain issues unresolved due to its limited scope, causing the IG to issue a disclaimer of opinion on the FY 2014 financial statements. Specifically, the uncertainty focused...

Originations of purchase mortgages outpaced refinances in the jumbo market in 2014, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. Some $135.88 billion in jumbo purchase mortgages was reported under HMDA in 2014, accounting for 60.6 percent of loans that exceeded agency conforming loan limits, including those in high-cost markets. In 2013, purchase mortgages accounted ... [Includes two data charts]

Fitch Ratings placed a negative outlook on a number of servicer ratings for Caliber Home Loans this week. The rating service said the revision from a stable outlook was due to “rapid growth and heightened regulatory scrutiny.” Caliber was the 19th-ranked servicer as of the end of the second quarter of 2015, according to affiliated publication Inside Mortgage Finance. The nonbank handled a $75.23 billion portfolio, which increased by 27.1 percent compared with ...

A spokesman for Stonegate Mortgage confirmed that Bolstad is no longer with the lender/servicer, but had little else to say on the matter.