Standard & Poor’s earned a split decision this week in its counter-offensive against the federal government’s civil fraud lawsuit filed last year, which the rating agency claims is payback for its August 2011 downgrade of the U.S.’ ‘AAA’ credit rating. The Justice Department in February 2013 filed a $5.0 billion lawsuit against S&P accusing it of knowingly inflating its ratings of residential MBS and collateralized debt obligations to boost its revenue and market share in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. On Tuesday, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, CA, denied...
Major market indicators suggest the subprime auto ABS sector has finally returned to normal after the financial crisis, and prospects are good for a healthy market in 2014, according to research professionals at Wells Fargo Securities. “Subprime auto ABS has fully recovered from the recession, in our view,” John McElravey, head of consumer ABS research for the firm, and Bee Sim Koh, an associate in the unit, said in a recent market update. For example, new-issue volume in the sector rose...
Two of the top officers have left Mortgage Resolution Partners, the company that rattled Wall Street by trying to convince hard-pressed local governments to use eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages. The latest to depart is John Vlahoplus, who held the title of chief strategy officer. Vlahoplus, who could not be reached for comment, has taken a position with Credit Suisse. The other, more crippling departure is that of Graham Williams, CEO of the San Francisco-based private equity firm. He told Inside MBS & ABS that he officially cut ties with the company at the end of March. Steven Gluckstern, who serves as chairman of MRP, took on the title of acting CEO. At press time, he could not be reached for comment. Under the MRP scheme, local governments would offer...
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issued a combined $60.2 billion of real estate mortgage investment conduits backed by single-family MBS during the first quarter of 2014, a relatively modest decline of 11.6 percent. New MBS issuance by the agencies fell by 26.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013 and was down 59.5 percent from the first three months of 2013. Freddie actually increased...[Includes two data charts]
A sustained decline in GSE refinances, coupled with faltering purchase activity throughout the first quarter, helped contribute to an overall drop in the volume of single-family mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in March. In the first quarter of 2014, Fannie and Freddie combined for $355.8 billion in new single-family securitizations, down 63.7 percent year-to-date.In March, Fannie and Freddie produced just $37.6 billion of single-family MBS, down 15.6 percent from February. It was the lowest monthly volume since January 2009.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities remained the preferred investment choice of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks during the fourth quarter of 2013, though with a negligible increase from the previous quarter, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside The GSEs based on data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Meanwhile, Ginnie Mae securities posted a sizable increase within the FHLBank system during the period ending Dec. 31, 2013. GSE MBS accounted for 74.9 percent of combined FHLBank MBS portfolios, 0.3 percent from the third quarter. The Finance Agency’s data do not separately break out Fannie and Freddie volume or share.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae saw much lower business volume in both purchase-money mortgages and refinance loans during the first quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The agencies securitized a total of $95.9 billion of purchase mortgages during the first three months of the year, down 28.8 percent from the previous quarter. That was a steeper decline than in refinance volume, which slid 24.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013. Compared to a year ago, the purchase market continued...[Includes three data charts]
Some industry analysts suggest that originations of purchase mortgages have been held back by potential borrowers’ debt-to-income ratios, which have increased along with rises in home prices. However, originations of purchase mortgages have increased in the past year as home prices have risen and it’s more than DTI ratios shutting certain borrowers out of the purchase market. Even though interest rates on mortgages remain at relatively low levels, housing affordability has been an increasing concern due to trends in home prices. Borrowers in parts of California, as well as Denver, Miami and Portland, could have difficulty qualifying for a purchase mortgage, according to a recent analysis by Zillow. Based on income, mortgage and home-value data for the fourth quarter of 2013, Zillow found...
Total consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rose 34 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, but gripes about home mortgages fell 29.3 percent from year-ago levels, according to a new analysis by Inside the CFPB, an affiliated newsletter. The strong improvement from last year was driven largely by a 46.8 percent plunge in grievances about loan modifications. But complaints about servicing in general were up 21.4 percent from the first quarter of last year, while the other five mortgage-related categories were lower. Gripes having to do with loan application or other origination-related issues fell 26.7 percent from the first quarter of 2013. The number of gripes that were responded to in a timely manner fell...
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