Redwood Trust increased its acquisitions of jumbo mortgages in the third quarter, helped by strong demand for jumbo mortgage-backed securities. The real estate investment trust acquired jumbos with a total unpaid principal balance of $1.50 billion in the third quarter, up 25.0 percent from the previous period and up 15.4 percent a year ago. Officials said spread tightening helped the REIT compete with banks for jumbos. In the third quarter, Redwood closed two super-prime jumbo MBS with ...

“A significant reduction in the corporate tax rate would result in a significant net loss, and that could result in a loss for the year,” said Fannie CEO Timothy Mayopoulos…

Nonprime lenders allow credit scores as low as 500 and loan-to-value ratios up to 90.0 percent, but new originations don’t typically reach such extremes. According to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets, the average credit score on loans in nonprime/Alt A mortgage-backed securities issued in recent years was 701.1. The average combined LTV ratio for the loans was 74.9 percent and the average debt-to-income ratio was 37.0 percent. The analysis ... [Includes one data chart]

Members of the House who are drafting housing-finance reform legislation are tackling a number of issues that impact the non-agency market. At a hearing last week by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, Chairman Sean Duffy, R-WI, said the panel’s recent hearings were aimed at getting feedback for a new legislative proposal. Duffy also stressed that the effort should be bipartisan. “I believe that if we’re going to be successful not just in ...

Freddie Mac significantly reduced its holdings of nonprime mortgage-backed securities in the third quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Freddie held $5.14 billion of nonprime MBS as of the end of September, down 52.2 percent from June. The government-sponsored enterprise sold approximately $5.00 billion of its non-agency MBS holdings during the quarter, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ... [Includes one data chart]

The Structured Finance Industry Group this week unveiled key performance indicators for deal agents to track in new non-agency mortgage-backed securities. The proposed standards detail 150 measurements for deal agents to monitor. Ocwen Financial reported a net loss of $6.14 million for the third quarter of 2017. The loss would have been worse if not for a one-time tax benefit of $23.2 million related to the release of previously established reserves ... [Includes three briefs]

New issuance of MBS backed by income-property mortgages jumped sharply in the third quarter of 2017, hitting levels not reached in over a decade, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis.

The Structured Finance Industry Group this week unveiled key performance indicators (KPIs) for deal agents to track in new non-agency MBS. The measurements were developed by a group of in-dustry participants to help guide deal agents in protecting MBS investors.

A proposal in the House Republican tax reform bill significantly lowering the corporate tax rate, at first glance, may seem to put mortgage real estate investment trusts at a competitive disadvantage with non-REITs. However, the disparity would remain beneficial for REITs, according to tax experts.

Annaly Capital Management increased its agency MBS holdings by 16.1 percent in the third quarter. Its closest competitor among real estate investment trusts specializing in the space, AGNC In-vestment Corp., pushed up its investment by 13.3 percent.