Ginnie Mae set records for new issuance of single-family mortgage-backed securities in 2015 and 2016, but production sagged last year, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside FHA/VA Lending. The agency issued $443.20 billion of MBS backed by forward single-family mortgages in 2017, a 10.8 percent decline from the previous year. Including FHA reverse mortgages and that are not truncated, 2017 issuance fell 10.3 percent to $455.00 billion. Meanwhile, the private mortgage insurance business – based on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS data – saw a smaller decline of 5.0 percent from 2016 to last year. The VA program generally held up better than the FHA program during the fourth quarter, when refinance lending was climbing. But the FHA had a better year overall despite some loss of market share in purchase-mortgage activity. Deliveries of FHA loans into ... [ Charts ]

Ginnie Mae and the Department of Veterans Affairs have announced additional measures to curb serial refinancing of VA loans. Testifying before a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee this week, officials from both agencies said the latest measures will complement guidelines Ginnie issued last year to deal with the loan-churning problem. Lenders urged Congress and the two agencies to be cautious in prescribing fixes that could potentially cut off VA funding. Jeffrey London, director of the VA Loan Guaranty Service, said a proposed rule that includes a net tangible benefits test for veterans as well as seasoning and recoupment requirements will be issued soon. The VA is also planning to require upfront lender disclosure of the terms and benefits of a streamline or cash-out refi, including the recoupment period of the new transaction. Even though serial refinancing is not systemic to the VA portfolio, it has grown in ...

Mortgage rates are back up for the week ending Jan. 11, 2018, following Treasury yields, according to the latest results of the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday morning.

Purchase-money mortgages are the bread and butter in primary mortgage-insurance activity, but refinance loans also played a role in the continuing climb in private MI market share during the fourth quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis.

A planned mortgage-backed security from New Residential Investment received much higher ratings than a similar deal issued by the firm in 2016.

Redwood Trust is preparing two prime jumbo MBS, JPMorgan Chase has one of its own and an affiliate of Caliber Home Loans plans to issue a nonprime deal.

It appears that many lenders may have what is known in the industry as “redundant reserves”…

In the end, 2017 couldn’t match the huge volume of MBS and ABS generated the year before, a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis reveals.

With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buybacks at post-crisis lows, mortgage sellers should reevalu-ate their repurchase reserves for a number of reasons that could impact their business, according to mortgage industry experts. With loan quality significantly improved and underwriting standards tight-ened, many lenders are likely overestimating potential buybacks and carrying excess reserves.

DoubleLine Capital, an investment management firm, recently created a new entity with plans to issue non-agency MBS and commercial MBS. These activities will be conducted via the new Mortgage Opportunities Capital, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.