“The new guys are quickly gaining on the traditional players,” said Ginnie president Ted Tozer. “Some have grown from zero to $5 billion to $10 billion overnight. We’re concerned about their infrastructure and capital.”
A number of real estate investment trusts are increasing their presence in the jumbo mortgage-backed security market with conduit programs as well as purchases of subordinate tranches from new MBS. Two Harbors Investment said its jumbo conduit had a pipeline with an unpaid principal balance of $650 million at the end of the second quarter of 2014, more than four times the REIT’s pipeline at March 31. Two Harbors recently issued a $267.67 million jumbo MBS, the first from the REIT this year ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission this week unanimously approved a final rule covering registration and disclosures for asset-backed securities, including new non-agency mortgage-backed securities. The so-called “Reg AB2” measure requires significant changes for new non-agency MBS, including loan-level disclosures and a three-day waiting period before issuing new deals. “The SEC must protect investors in asset-backed securities just as it does investors in any other security ...
Bank of America last week agreed to a record settlement with the Department of Justice and others, largely involving non-agency mortgage-backed securities issued from 2003 through 2008. Officials at the DOJ said the settlement focused on disclosures provided by BofA and its affiliates, including Countrywide Financial, First Franklin and Merrill Lynch, to investors in the bonds. “It’s kind of like going to your neighborhood grocery store to buy milk advertised as fresh, only to discover that ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission this week approved a final rule with new requirements for rating services and due diligence providers. The rule was approved on a 3-2 vote, with the SEC’s two Republican-appointed commissioners chafing at standards required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Among other provisions, the SEC is requiring nationally recognized statistical rating organizations to strengthen their internal controls, establish new procedures designed to protect the integrity of rating methods ...