HSBC has agreed to pay $765 million in civil penalties under a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve allegations it misled investors on the quality of its residential MBS and the accuracy of its due diligence procedures.
Fitch Ratings is now giving a more detailed assessment of MBS due diligence firms. This week, the company introduced a tiered rating system to replace the previous designations used for classifying third-party reviewers conducting due diligence on new non-agency MBS.
The creation of securitization structures to finance mortgage servicing rights was the most significant development for nonbank mortgage lenders in the aftermath of the financial crisis, according to Vandy Fartaj, CEO at PennyMac Financial Services.
The average daily trading volume in agency MBS totaled $219.4 billion in September, a modest increase from the month prior, which marked a low point for the year, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
Wells Fargo is testing the prime jumbo MBS market for the first time since the financial crisis with a transaction that has features that differ from those issued by other banks in recent years.
New production of non-agency MBS in the third quarter couldn’t keep pace with the record level reached in the previous period, but the market remained on track to top last year’s total issuance by the time 2018 ends. [Includes three data charts]
Private mortgage insurers appeared to gain market share in the third quarter of 2018 as purchase-mortgage lending surged in the agency market, according to an exclusive ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. [Includes three data charts]
MFA CEO Craig Knutson said he’s pleased the REIT has “gained traction on these new acquisition efforts, which involve relationships cultivated over the past year or more.”
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