The agency single-family MBS market gained speed for the sixth consecutive month in July and appeared on track to top last year’s annual total by the time 2016 is over. According to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae produced a hefty $129.30 billion of new single-family MBS in July. That was up 7.7 percent from June and represented the biggest month in new issuance since August 2013. While the year-to-date totals were still slightly below the volume produced in the first seven months of 2015, this year’s market probably hasn’t...[Includes two data tables]

MBS investments by most of the nation’s publicly traded mortgage real estate investment trusts continue to be in a holding pattern these days as they figure out what to do in an environment of declining interest rates and accelerating prepayment speeds. Market leader Annaly Capital Management held $64.9 billion of agency MBS at midyear, down ever so slightly from the prior quarter. Compared to June 2015, Annaly’s MBS portfolio was off 4.1 percent. American Capital Agency Corp., Annaly’s closest competitor in terms of REIT MBS investing, saw...

Freddie Mac will publish a new set of disclosures to help the market track the exchange of its legacy MBS with a 45-day payment delay to a 55-day cycle under the new Single Security, according to a new update from the government-sponsored enterprise. A key disclosure involves the creation of “mirror securities” that help investors track how much of an existing MBS has been exchanged for the new securities. Mirror securities will be created for Freddie’s current participation certificates as well as second-level Giants that are comprised of PCs. Before new Single Securities are created, Freddie will create...

One of the largest players in the "new" nonprime mortgage industry is Citadel Loan Servicing, Irvine, CA, which now has a portfolio totaling $600 million.

Most lenders welcome mortgage technology and innovation, but they are divided when it comes to embracing Uber-like industry-wide disruptions, according to new research from Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group. “Today’s consumers access myriad products and services via digital platforms that make it more efficient, simple and pleasant to conduct their business,” said Katrina Jones, vice president of single-family business solutions at ...

GSE guaranty fees more than doubled from 2011 to 2015, increasing from an average of 26 basis points in 2011 to 56 basis points in 2015, according to a new report published this week. That sharp increase has prompted trade and community groups to lobby for lower fees. However, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt said this week that the current charges “strike the right balance, between safety and soundness and liquidity in the housing finance market,” according to a reply letter he sent to the Center for Responsible Lenders, Mortgage Bankers Association and a host of others seeking a fee reduction. In the FHFA’s annual report to Congress on guaranty fees...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is well along on planning a replacement program for underwater mortgages with an announcement coming “relatively soon,” Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton said this week. The successor program will be a “relief refinance” initiative, he said in an interview with Inside The GSEs, noting the borrower will be able to refinance “without going through a full new regular credit process.” Layton added that mortgage professionals should think of the new effort as a cousin to the Home Affordable Refinance Program, which is set to expire at the end of the year. There are approximately 325,290 borrowers still eligible for a refinance under the HARP initiative, according to FHFA’s figures.

Corona Asset Management XVIII won Fannie Mae’s fourth Community Impact Pool of nonperforming loans. Last week’s announcement represented the first time that the pool was sold to a private equity firm instead of a nonprofit group. The Community Impact Pool is structured to encourage nonprofits, as well as smaller investors and minority- and women-owned businesses. It’s designed to include geographically focused, high-occupancy collateral where bidders have a longer than usual time to participate in hopes of attracting diverse participation. Fannie began marketing this particular pool to possible bidders back in June with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and CastleOak Securities, L.P.

The Democratic Party released its 2016 platform and its priorities range from expanding foreclosure prevention programs to increasing access to affordable housing and preserving the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Dave Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said that when it comes to housing, the Democratic and Republican platforms are starkly different. “The Republican platform is almost solely about removing burdens on financial institutions and others who build homes, and the Democratic platform deals with both the demand and supply side in their policies,” he said during one of several real estate panels held at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Democrats specifically mentioned...

OPERS Lawsuit Reinstated Over Freddie Subprime Loans. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision that had cleared Freddie Mac of charges that it misled investors about its involvement in the subprime mortgage market. The lawsuit was filed in 2008 by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, which claimed Freddie made false public financial statements that hid its exposure to risky loans. The fund alleged that it lost more than $27.2 million as the value of Freddie stock plummeted. OPERS said the 29 percent drop in stock price in 2007 followed Freddie’s disclosure of a $2 billion loss. The pension fund claimed...