New MBS issuance backed by income-property mortgages fell in the first quarter of 2016 as all sectors of the market got off to a weak start in the new year, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. A total of $44.78 billion of commercial mortgages were securitized in the first three months of the year, down 11.8 percent from the fourth quarter. It marked the lowest three-month output since the second quarter of 2014, when $37.61 billion of commercial mortgages were securitized. Both sides of the industry saw...[Includes one data table]

The government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are issuing multifamily MBS in 2016 at a rate that should approach and perhaps exceed $100 billion by the end of the year, according to the latest data and projections from the pair. That compares with a Federal Housing Finance Agency GSE scorecard cap of $31 billion in volume for each, up $1 billion over last year. However, there’s a good bit of wiggle room there because Fannie and Freddie essentially have “capped” and “uncapped” buckets. The more active of the two, Fannie, churned out $12.6 billion of new multifamily MBS in the first...

Mortgage trading desks the past few months have seen a noticeable increase in whole loan trading tied to seasoned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, according to traders interviewed this week by Inside MBS & ABS. Jason Eisendrath, director of loan sale strategies for Mortgage Delivery Specialists, said the sellers include not only money-center banks, but credit unions. “The credit unions, in particular, are holding a lot of [government-sponsored enterprise] paper,” he said. MDS is a part of Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., New York. It’s...

Fannie Mae revealed plans this week to securitize re-performing loans held on its balance sheet to manage its risk and reduce its portfolio. Loans that have been modified and are now performing, coupled with loans that have become current without the assistance of a modification program, will be included in the group. “Over the long run, these securitizations can benefit...

Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie continue to dominate in multifamily mortgage securitization, capturing a combined 93.6 percent of the market in the first quarter.

Christopher Whalen, senior managing director at KBRA, noted that most of the megabanks “are showing lower mortgage banking lines, which includes MBS desk P&L [profit and loss]. Gain-on-sale is also down about 50 percent year-over-year, so that’s another factor in the balance.”

Was the TRID mess overblown? Tell that to all the mortgage firms that lost money on deals...

Declining interest rates introduced considerable uncertainty into the valuation of mortgage servicing rights during the first quarter of 2016, leading to a decline in bulk transfers of agency MSR, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis. Bulk sales of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae servicing rights totaled just $36.16 billion during the first three months of this year, a 37.2 percent drop from the fourth quarter of 2015. That was down ... [Includes one data chart]

Mortgage financing as it exists today might have to go through significant changes if the impact of climate change worsens, particularly in areas most exposed to the risk, according to new research from Freddie Mac. While flood insurance makes it possible for borrowers to obtain home loans in areas of high flood risk, other fallout from climate change – rising sea levels, changing weather patterns, increasing temperatures – may not be insurable. “As a result, some important features ...

This week, Fannie Mae announced it will start to securitize re-performing loans held on its balance sheet during the second half of the year. Loans that have been modified and are now performing and loans that have become current without a modification program will be included. Securitizing the once delinquent loans will help manage Fannie’s risk while dwindling down its portfolio, according to Fannie’s Bob Ives, vice president of retained portfolio asset management. “Over the long run, these securitizations can benefit investors, Fannie Mae and taxpayers.” Just weeks earlier the Federal Housing Finance Agency revealed a principal reduction program for Fannie and Freddie Mac loans.