The Structured Finance Industry Group published recommendations this week for loan-level data disclosure for ABS backed by unsecured consumer loans originated by marketplace lenders. The proposal was the first in a planned series of “Green Papers” from the trade group that will seek to support “responsible growth” in the issuance of ABS from marketplace lenders. “The best practices initiative, rooted in supporting the responsible growth of securitization in the marketplace sector, will seek to identify a framework of standards and work to identify gaps in application or understanding,” SFIG said. The trade group said...
Democrats in the House Financial Services Committee raised concerns last week about how the Department of Justice will handle MBS-related charges against Deutsche Bank with President-elect Donald Trump set to take office. The Democrats called for strong oversight by eight inspectors general involved with regulators of the financial services industry, noting potential conflicts due to Trump’s business interests. “While federal ethics rules require nearly all government employees to recuse themselves from matters that affect their outside financial interests, these rules do not apply...
The average daily trading volume in agency MBS hit a yearly high of $224.4 billion in October, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. With liquidity improving, the year-to-date average now stands at $206.6 billion, compared to $198.7 billion in 2015. The November reading should be out by the end of next week. Investors might be...
Analysts at Wells Fargo Securities worry that the post-election rate shock is not a positive omen for bank and overseas investors in MBS. “Since the U.S. presidential election, the 10-year yield has sold off by 55 basis points in a matter of two weeks,” they said in a recent client note. “Although banks and overseas investors are typically looking to buy on dips, large selloffs do not bode well for demand from these investors right after a rate shock. For banks, a large rate shock results in a hit on their regulatory capital.” According to their calculations, during the week ending Nov. 9, 2016, the net realized gains on bank portfolios declined...
Several pending mortgage lawsuits spawned by the housing crisis are inching closer to closure, including an apparent victory for Bank of America. The Department of Justice let the deadline pass to appeal a ruling from May in which BofA, defending practices of Countrywide Financial, escaped having to pay more than $1 billion in penalties to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In 2014, a federal judge ordered...
Securitization of residential and commercial loans with Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) assessments has been growing over the last few years despite having only a few market players, prompting analysts to predict continued growth for the PACE securities market. Residential PACE financing has increased to $2.9 billion with 130,000 home upgrades since 2010, according to second quarter 2016 data from industry group PACE Nation. Commercial PACE financing, meanwhile, has grown to $304 million with 820 commercial projects over the same period. Three programs accounted...
Standards proposed by the Structured Finance Industry Group for disclosures of representations and warranties on new non-agency mortgage-backed securities are likely to put a burden on conduits and other aggregators that pool mortgages from scores of originators. The Wall Street group recently released the fourth edition of its RMBS 3.0 “green papers,” which aim to revive issuance of non-agency MBS by making reforms that will attract investors. The latest green paper focused on ...
Moody’s Investors Service published a warning this week regarding mortgage programs that use bank statements and letters from accountants to verify borrowers’ income. The rating service said that type of underwriting – especially when relying on fewer than 24 months of statements – yields loans that are more risky than mortgages that have traditional income verification. Bank-statement mortgages have gained some prominence in the non-agency market this year as Lone Star Funds ...
American International Group is preparing to resume issuing non-agency mortgage-backed securities, according to officials at the insurance company. The planned issuance differs significantly from the subprime MBS AIG issued before the financial crisis. Douglas Dachille, an executive vice president and CIO, said the firm is working to “rebalance its exposure to residential mortgages” after AIG’s sale of United Guaranty, a private mortgage insurer. During a recent presentation to investors ...