Ginnie Mae is seeking feedback from dealers, issuers and investors about whether to continue to maintain two separate mortgage-backed securities programs or to consolidate them under a single security. Comments are also being sought on other possible options. Bloomberg.com recently reported that Ginnie Mae sent out questionnaires to Wall Street broker-dealers for their input on the future of both the Ginnie Mae I and Ginnie Mae II MBS programs. The agency has been considering whether it should merge the programs for some time. The Ginnie Mae I single-issuer pool program with stringent pooling requirements began in ...
The non-agency MBS market produced $8.33 billion in new transactions during the first quarter of 2013, its strongest issuance in nearly two years, and did so the old-fashioned way by relying heavily on new prime jumbo mortgages. The first three months of 2013 saw nearly a threefold increase in non-agency MBS issuance compared to the previous quarter and was 65.1 percent ahead of the pace set in 2012, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. Although over half the issuance volume was in re-securitizations and deals backed by servicer advances, the most encouraging sign was the continued rebound in prime jumbo MBS production. Redwood Trust made good...[Includes three data charts]
Although the HARP program had record volume in the first quarter, the program is showing almost no growth, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.
Bank of America entered into a massive buyback settlement with Fannie Mae in January, but has yet to sell any 'purchase' loans to the GSE in 2013. However, this may change soon.
The latest unofficial nominee purportedly under White House consideration to replace the Federal Housing Finance Agencys acting head is far from a shoo-in, but industry observers say that Moodys Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi is the most credible candidate yet who could not only clear Senate confirmation but also advance final reform of the government-sponsored enterprises. Zandi would neither confirm nor deny to Inside Mortgage Finance this week that hes being considered by the Obama administration to replace FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco as the agencys permanent director. However, sources say...
No one is suggesting that Wells Fargo will begin lopping off large chunks of its $1.9 trillion residential servicing portfolio in a fashion similar to what Bank of America has done the past two years, but clearly selling mortgage servicing rights is on its to-do list. The big question is how much Wells Fargo is willing to part with. The bank declined to discuss the matter with Inside Mortgage Finance, but confirmed that it seeks to hire what it calls a project manager to oversee the effort. A spokeswoman for Wells downplayed the significance of the hire, saying the person who eventually joins the staff will be a non-executive. At least four servicing professionals said...
Officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority met this week to consider increasing pricing transparency on fixed-income products, including publishing transaction information on private-placement ABS. Investors have called for greater pricing transparency on ABS issuance private placements and SEC-registered deals while issuers warn that such disclosures could increase costs or reduce their willingness to issue securities. In addition to meeting with the SEC, FINRAs board of directors met...