Year-to-date CLO issuance lagged behind the pace set in 2018 because of a slowdown in refinance transactions. Octagon Investment Partners was the most active sponsor at midyear.

The Treasury Department envisions a multi-year recapitalization of the GSEs. Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that the process is already underway.

The agency has removed restrictions on NewDay USA and Sun West Mortgage from including VA single-family loans in multi-issuer pools.

A whole business securitization from TGI Friday’s was downgraded by Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Meanwhile, two such deals hit the market.

If the U.S. economy enters a recession, MBS and ABS are expected to perform relatively well, according to S&P. Subprime auto ABS, certain commercial MBS and CLOs are most at risk for downgrades.

Treasury recommends Congress authorize Ginnie Mae to provide “last position” guarantee on MBS backed by conventional and multifamily home loans as well as give it the flexibility to adjust its guarantee fee.

Late this week, the Treasury Department unveiled its long-awaited plan to revamp the mortgage market. There were no huge surprises but Treasury wants “explicit” backing for the agency MBS market.

Live Well Financial, once a top-ranked HECM lender, is now a heap of smoking ash. A new indictment charges that its downfall was predicated by a massive fraud scheme involving interest-only MBS.

Switching from LIBOR to another reference rate looks to be difficult for vintage non-agency MBS. Adopting a replacement rate will require significant communication and cooperation among investors.

Redwood has suggested a number of changes that could boost issuance of non-agency MBS. The REIT wants reforms regarding risk retention and disclosures for non-agency MBS.