Rep. Hensarling: “This means the government needs to be in the last-loss position, with multiple layers of private capital, as diversified as possible, stacked up before it.”

Ginnie Mae this week announced new guidelines to curb the churning of VA loans and high MBS prepayment speeds – the first in a series of measures developed by a joint Ginnie/VA task force to address the problem.

It appears that Congressional reform of the housing-finance system – and final resolution of Fan-nie Mae and Freddie Mac – is back on track with a key piece of good news for MBS investors: an ex-plicit federal guarantee on conventional product looks likely.

The single security initiative and issuance of the first uniform MBS are on track for implementa-tion and issuance in the second quarter of 2019 and the government-sponsored enterprises are taking steps to make sure the market is ready, according to a progress update released this week by the Feder-al Housing Finance Agency.

The dollar volume of non-agency MBS backed by non-qualified mortgages could double or even triple next year, according to industry analysts. The increased issuance is expected to come from nonprime and prime borrowers who don’t qualify for conforming mortgages.

A handful of real estate investment trusts are looking to partner with nonprime lenders in a move that could help prime the pump for a significant increase in securitizations of non-agency mortgages that stretch the credit box.

A subsidiary of DRB Capital is set to issue a $59.9 million ABS backed by annuities and life-contingent structured settlement receivables. The deal received AAA ratings from Morningstar Credit Ratings late last week.

Panelists during a House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing this week disagreed on the type of credit-risk sharing transfers that future MBS guarantors should use in a reformed housing-finance system.

A recent report from the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that payment reduction was the most effective form of post-crisis loan modification, and a 10 percent drop in the mortgage payment lowered default rates by 22 percent.

Redwood Trust is looking to expand its footprint into funding originations by nonbanks as well as putting a greater emphasis on acquiring investment-property mortgages. The strategy announced this week was detailed one day after Redwood revealed that its CEO will retire in May. Officials said changes in the housing market have created opportunities for the real estate investment trust to “leverage our competitive strengths and expand our strategic mission.” They said funding ...