Banks large and small are increasing their originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages, according to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. Demand for the mortgages in the secondary market has increased significantly recently, giving banks another option besides holding the loans in portfolio. An estimated $54.0 billion in non-agency jumbos were originated in the first quarter of 2013, up 14.9 percent from the first quarter of 2012. Fourteen of the top 20 non-agency jumbo lenders increased their originations during that period, including Bank of America and Chase, which each increased their jumbo originations by about 66 percent. Agency jumbo production – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA business over the traditional $417,000 conforming loan limit – was...[Includes three data charts]

Nationstar Mortgage has been an active issuer of debt this year. The nonbank continues to scour the market for servicing acquisitions.

A few weeks back, Flagstar Bank sold roughly $12 billion in mortgage servicing rights in a private transaction for an undisclosed sum. To date, the sale has not been disclosed but that isn’t stopping players in the MSR market from talking about the transaction as well as rumors that Flagstar, at one time, was contemplating selling upwards of $70 billion of MSR. A source close to the deal said that Flagstar was definitely contemplating a large MSR transaction late last year “but tabled it.” A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment. If Flagstar had unloaded...

Small lenders should be afforded “equal access” to the secondary market and the same execution opportunities as their larger contemporaries, and they would under a reform plan proposed by the Mortgage Bankers Association. A “concept paper” released by the MBA this week recommends immediate steps the Federal Housing Finance Agency can take by way of secondary market reform of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on behalf of lenders of all sizes, including inducing comparable guaranty fees and eliminating underwriting concessions for large lenders. The MBA called...

As of Wednesday morning, a GSE shareholder petition accessible through the White House website had 874 of the 100,000 signatures required by July 1.

Nonbanks continue to request warehouse lines of credit but because of declining origination volumes, the thirst is easing somewhat.

The top contributors to the new Redwood Trust jumbo deal include George Mason Mortgage, Cole Taylor Mortgage, W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital and PrimeLending.

The MSR sales machine is cranking up at MountainView.

Conix Inc. is in the market with an MBS backed by nonperforming mortgages. Could other deals be far behind?

Wells Fargo was the top-ranked non-agency jumbo lender in the first quarter with $9.67 billion, nearly double the next closest lender.