New issuance of residential MBS and non-mortgage ABS fell slightly during the third quarter of 2015, but the market remained well ahead of the pace set last year. A new Inside MBS & ABS analysis shows a total of $396.99 billion of MBS and ABS were issued during the third quarter, down 6.1 percent from the previous quarter. That total does not include commercial MBS or multifamily securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. On a year-to-date basis, total MBS and ABS issuance was...[Includes two data tables]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to tap investor interest in credit-risk transfer transactions over the last week or so, with each company announcing another deal involving more support from various elements in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. Last week, Fannie announced it has completed its latest Credit Insurance Risk Transfer transaction, which shifts credit risk on a pool of loans to a panel of reinsurers. In CIRT-2015-3 which became effective Aug. 1, 2015, Fannie retained...[Includes one data table]

The much-anticipated $150 million nonprime MBS deal from Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions appears to have hit a brick wall with concerns arising over representations and warranties on the transaction, according to one high-level source who claims to have knowledge of the deal. Both Angel Oak and the underwriter, Nomura Securities, this week once again did not return several media inquiries on what might have gone wrong. Originally, the bond – a privately issued transaction – was slated for sale to investors sometime in September but never came off. The source, who spoke to Inside MBS & ABS under the condition his name not be used, said...

A memo issued by the Internal Revenue Service this year regarding the tax treatment for certain real estate mortgage investment conduits has been a boon for investors in nonperforming loans, according to William Cejudo, a partner at the law firm of Clifford Chance. At the recent ABS East conference sponsored by Information Management Network in Miami, Cejudo provided some background on Technical Advice Memorandum 2015-17007, which was issued by the IRS in May. The memo covered a life insurance company’s formation of a REMIC that held impaired non-agency MBS. “It’s...

Issuance of ABS backed by leases on small/mid-ticket equipment has rebounded since the financial crisis to levels last seen 15 years ago. However, industry participants suggest that loan-level disclosure requirements and mandatory risk-retention could limit activity in the sector going forward. At the recent ABS East conference produced by Information Management Network in Miami, Du Trieu, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, said issuance is increasing due to the improving economy and investor demand. “The collateral is business critical and income producing,” he added. Nearly $12.0 billion in small/mid-ticket ABS was issued...

Failure to deposit borrowers’ escrow amounts into custodial accounts at the time of securitization or pool transfer is the most common fault committed by Ginnie Mae issuers, according to compliance experts. In particular, such oversights accounted for 24.7 percent of findings of compliance reviews conducted between Sept. 3, 2013, and Aug. 17, 2015. Ginnie requires that borrower escrow amounts be deposited in a “timely” manner, which is defined as within 48 hours of pool securitization, explained experts at the recent Ginnie Mae Summit conference in Arlington, VA. Approved Ginnie Mae issuers undergo...

The recent ABS East conference prompted another round of introspection among participants in the non-agency mortgage-backed security market. While efforts to address concerns raised by potential investors are progressing, a multitude of issues continues to hamper non-agency MBS issuance. Issuers continue to focus on finding investors willing to buy AAA tranches of non-agency MBS. “Some of the AAA investors will come back when the pricing gets a little more ...

The inclusion of a deal agent or transaction manager in new non-agency mortgage-backed securities would significantly increase investors’ confidence in the sector, according to industry participants. Alessandro Pagani, a portfolio manager and head of securitized assets at Loomis Sayles, said a large number of institutional investors have pushed for a deal agent and the hope is that if non-agency MBS includes the feature, investors will buy into the deals ...

Riding a wave of heavy purchase-mortgage activity, Ginnie Mae issuers produced a record $128.23 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities during the third quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending ranking and analysis. The third-quarter figure, which includes FHA home-equity conversion mortgage MBS, was up 6.5 percent from the second quarter of this year. The previous record was $125.68 billion, set back in the third quarter of 2009. Loan-level MBS data, which do not include HECMs and have truncated loan amounts, show hefty gains in purchase-mortgage activity that more than offset sharp declines in refinance business. The flow of FHA purchase mortgages jumped 37.7 percent from the second to the third quarter, and VA purchase mortgages were up 37.9 percent over the same period. Meanwhile, refinance volume fell ... [ 2 charts ]

Ginnie Mae has announced revised rules for issuers seeking approval of changes in their business status due to an adversarial relationship with agencies, mergers, asset transfers or a change in ownership or control. The agency has been receiving many issuer requests and they are getting complicated, according to Ted Tozer, Ginnie Mae president. Issuers must comply with the updated guidance in order to remain an eligible participant in the Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities program. The guidance took effect immediately. Previously, issuers were required to notify Ginnie Mae in writing within five days of any material adverse change in their business relationships with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, Rural Development, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Public and Indian Housing or any other regulatory agency. Under the revised guidance, the ...