There is good news for investors in private student-loan ABS these days, according to the latest market intelligence from industry analysts. Student loan performance was healthy in the first quarter, and more growth is expected going forward. Continued strong performance trends were seen in repayment, delinquencies and charge-offs for private student loans through March 31, 2015, according to the semi-annual private student-loan performance report from MeasureOne, which was released earlier this week. Among the key findings, year-over-year delinquencies continued...
Securitization industry participants are concerned about a recent ruling in a federal appeals court that overturned longstanding preemption certain nonbanks have enjoyed from state laws, including standards for debt collection. The ruling in late May by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Madden v. Midland Funding could pose “significant implications for the securitization industry,” according to the Structured Finance Industry Group. The case involves...
JPMorgan Chase recently won in a long-running lawsuit with Deutsche Bank, limiting potential liabilities it inherited from purchasing the embattled Washington Mutual in 2008 at the behest of federal banking regulators. U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer in Washington, DC, ordered that liabilities for representation-and-warranty breaches be split between JPMorgan and WaMu Mortgage Securities Corp. The judge decided that JPMorgan would be liable only to the extent that the liabilities were on WaMu’s books as of Sept. 25, 2008. The remaining liabilities would remain at WaMu. Only a short order was released...
While issuance of jumbo mortgage-backed securities is the strongest it’s been in the aftermath of the financial crisis, industry analysts suggest that it will be years before activity in the non-agency MBS market returns to levels anywhere near what was seen before the financial crisis. “The short-term outlook remains dismal,” said Quincy Tang, a managing director and head of U.S. residential MBS at DBRS. The factors that have limited issuance ...
DBRS and Standard & Poor’s separately issued revised criteria for rating non-agency mortgage-backed securities in recent weeks. DBRS will give slightly more credit to jumbo MBS due to strong performance in recent years, while S&P adjusted modeling relating to home price trends. DBRS noted that from 2010 through the end of April, $32.1 billion in jumbo MBS had been issued, with only one deal taking any losses to date, a 0.04 percent loss. “Positive loan attributes ...
A final rule issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding third-party due diligence providers and rating services takes effect on June 15. The rule is set to prompt a number of changes in the non-agency mortgage-backed security market, largely targeting transparency. For MBS that receive ratings, public disclosure of results from third-party due diligence reviews will be required before a deal is priced. The disclosure requirement even applies to deals issued as private placements, which is the current practice for jumbo MBS ...
Ocwen Financial’s servicing of certain mortgages in non-agency mortgage-backed securities remains at risk due to a downgrade watch issued last week by Standard & Poor’s. Officials at Ocwen said they were surprised by the announcement while noting that Moody’s Investors Service upgraded various ratings relating to the nonbank. S&P said it placed servicer ratings for Ocwen on watch for downgrade last week due to regulatory scrutiny of the company, results from ...
First Tennessee Bank’s agreement with federal agencies to pay $212.5 million to resolve allegations of violation of the False Claims Act is the latest proof of the government’s unrelenting pursuit of FHA lenders over underwriting and quality control issues. The settlement once again demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to combat FHA fraud using the FCA to recover taxpayer losses, according to an analysis by Boston law firm Greene LLP. “[The Department of Housing and Urban Development] made a point of saying that this behavior is exactly what led to the financial crisis and housing market downturn,” Greene’s compliance attorneys said. HUD and the Department of Justice have vowed to continue to pursue and hold accountable lenders who put profits ahead of their customers and legal obligations, the attorneys added. According to the DOJ, First Tennessee, a regional bank, admitted ...
The Department of Veterans Affairs expects to issue a final rule establishing ability-to-repay (ATR) standards and defining a “qualified mortgage” in October, according to the agency’s regulatory agenda for the second half of 2015. Proposed in May 2014, the rule would implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, which, among other things, would require the VA to define the types of loans that are QMs under the new ATR provisions of the Truth in Lending Act. VA loans that are designated as QM would have either safe-harbor protections or the presumption that the borrower is able to repay the mortgage loan, in accordance with the new ATR provisions. The final rule would not change VA’s regulations or policies regarding mortgage originations, except when lenders want to originate QMs, the VA said. A VA spokesman clarified that action dates on any particular rulemaking are not ...