The recent adoption by the Securities and Exchange Commission of its Regulation AB II disclosure rule is expected to be a “credit positive” for the auto loan and lease ABS sector, but it probably will also raise costs for market participants and, ultimately, consumers, according to an industry consensus of the new rule. The new regulatory regime mandates standardized loan-level disclosures for ABS backed by auto loans and leases, as well as other classes, as reported previously. The loan-level data have to be provided on the SEC’s free online database known as the EDGAR system. Although specific data requirements vary by asset class, the new asset-level disclosures generally will include...
Investors are paying up for distressed mortgages these days, fueling talk that the market might see more in the way of securitizations. “Buyers of non-performing loans want to securitize,” said Brian Dunn, senior vice president of MountainView Capital Group. “They like the [real estate mortgage investment conduit] structure.” According to Dunn, the securitization of nonperforming mortgages “has taken off...
Servicer performance in the Home Affordable Modification Program is at one of the lowest levels in the five-year history of the loss mitigation program, according to the Treasury Department and the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Last week, the Treasury revealed that four of the seven largest servicers participating in the non-agency portion of HAMP need at least moderate improvement. CitiMortgage was ranked the lowest among the large servicers and will have its HAMP incentive payments withheld by the Treasury until the servicer’s performance improves.
The FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund account balances fell by $0.5 billion during the second quarter of 2014 to $45.3 billion due to higher claim payments and property expenses. Observers, nonetheless, remain optimistic the fund will return to full stability in 2015 with no further change in the mortgage insurance premium charged to borrowers. The MMIF’s total balances peaked at $48.4 billion in the third quarter of 2013 and then slipped gradually over the last three quarters, according to data in the FHA’s latest report to Congress regarding the financial health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Total revenues from premium collections, property sale, and note sale proceeds were $4.3 billion, while $5.1 billion was paid to cover claims and property expenses in the second quarter. This resulted in a negative$821 million cash flow in the quarter, the smallest outflow since ...
The average FHA credit score in the second quarter of 2014 continued to decline from the record highs of 2011, but remains well above the levels preceding the mortgage and credit crisis, according to FHA’s latest report to Congress on the state of the agency’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. The FHA’s second-quarter average credit score of 680 was 3 points below the previous quarter’s score and 13 points below the score during the same period last year. The report’s data suggest that FHA has accomplished its goal of shifting its market share to the 620-679 credit score bucket consistent with its target market while ceding its share of loans with scores exceeding 720 to the private MI sector. The last time borrowers’ average credit score hit 680 was in the second quarter of 2009. FHA officials said they are working to have 75 percent of the FHA lending in the ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is now qualifying investors for its sixth auction of non-performing loans (NPLs) amid nationwide protests calling for reform of HUD’s distressed note sale program. Single-Family Loan Sale SFLS 2014-2 includes 15,232 single-family, non-performing mortgages with a total unpaid principal of $2.3 billion. The sale consists of 10 loan pools ranging from $97 million to $825 million with collateral dispersed across the country, according to loan sale advisor DebtX. It is scheduled to bid on Sept. 30. On June 11, HUD sold a $4.8 billion portfolio of NPLs, the first of a two-part sale. The national offering consisted of approximately 23,200 loans divided into 16 pools ranging from $93 million to $1 billion. The loans are backed by properties across the ...
$835 Million Ginnie Mae Servicing Portfolio Hits Market. Mountain Servicing Group (MSG), a residential mortgage servicing rights transaction and valuation advisor, has announced an $835 million Ginnie Mae bulk-servicing offering. The company is the exclusive advisor to the seller, described only as “one of the premier mortgage bankers in the country.” The portfolio includes 99.7 percent fixed-rate and 100 percent first-lien, government-backed loans, with a weighted average original FICO of 691. Its weighted origination loan-to-value ratio is 94 percent, and its weighted average interest rate is 4.0 percent. The average loan size is $205,309. Top states for the portfolio are California (23.9 percent), New York (9.6 percent), Florida (4.7 percent), and Pennsylvania (4.5 percent). “It’s an exceptionally clean GNMA portfolio, with very low coupon and low delinquencies,” said Robert Wellerstein, managing director at MSG. “We expect this package to ...
The volume of mortgages subserviced for others declined slightly in the second quarter, but still face bright prospects as many firms contemplate outsourcing the processing chore to specialists that can effectively handle an increasing array of compliance regulations. The nation’s three largest subservicers – Dovenmuehle, Cenlar and PHH Mortgage – had a combined subservicing market share of 55.8 percent at June 30, dominating the sector, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. On a sequential basis, Dovenmuehle grew...[Includes one data chart]