Lenders pushed back against state regulators that are considering changes to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry licensing forms and the Mortgage Call Report. The State Regulatory Registry, which operates nationwide systems for state regulators, received a total of 11 comments from individuals and organizations regarding a proposal issued in May. Lenders provided a few constructive suggestions along with voicing frustration regarding state regulators’ data collection efforts. Pete Mills, a senior vice president of residential policy and member services at the Mortgage Bankers Association, urged...

After being indicted for loan fraud in 2012, Abacus Federal Savings Bank was acquitted of grand larceny and conspiracy charges last week that stemmed from a case brought by the New York District Attorney’s office that involved Fannie Mae. The small Manhattan-based bank, which primarily serves Chinese-Americans in the New York region, was accused of mortgage fraud and falsifying documents and then selling those faulty mortgages to Fannie from 2005 to 2010. Following a four-month trial and nine days of deliberations, a New York jury acquitted...

Gross new issuance of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae single-family MBS declined by 6.3 percent from April to May, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. The agencies produced $113.46 billion of new single-family MBS last month. Though down from April, it was still significantly higher than at any time in 2014, when production averaged just $77.46 billion per month. The key to the drop-off in May was...[Includes two data tables]

June 15 marks a new era for issuers and underwriters of MBS and ABS as a new rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission takes effect. For rated securities, even private placements, public disclosure of results from third-party due diligence reviews will be required before a deal is priced. Industry analysts suggest that the rule will prompt a number of changes in the market. “Many in-scope third-party due diligence services will have to be completed...

With interest rates rising again, the future looks somewhat cloudy for real estate investment trusts that invest in MBS, a situation that investors have grown accustomed to the past few years. According to figures compiled by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, the 28 mortgage investing REITs tracked by the firm had a combined market capitalization rate of $47.8 billion at the end of May, a slight drop from a year ago when the tally was $49.0 billion. Then again, not all of the 28 are...

Fitch Ratings this week put out a new report detailing the latest updates to its criteria for monitoring U.S. residential MBS for possible ratings changes and to analyze re-securitizations of real estate mortgage investment conduit deals. Among the most significant revisions is a loss severity adjustment for newly-issued re-REMIC transactions. Fitch will adjust the model-projected loss severity assumption for pools backing newly issued re-REMIC transactions by as much as 10 percent to account for differences between model projections and recently observed loss severity trends, according to the report. Fitch’s RMBS loan loss model “assumes...

The dreary state of the prime jumbo mortgage securitization market will continue for the short term but there’s a silver lining around the bend, according to an analysis by rating agency DBRS. Despite last year’s downturn, the jumbo prime market has seen steady growth in the last five years. In 2010, Sequoia Mortgage ended the drought in the non-agency MBS with a $478.1 million deal backed by newly originated prime jumbo loans. There have been...

Refinance lending fueled the growth in mortgage originations during the first quarter of 2015, although new data suggest that the purchase-mortgage sector is taking hold. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $221.0 billion of refi loans during the first quarter, an increase of 51.4 percent from a revised fourth-quarter production estimate of $146.0 billion. Inside Mortgage Finance refi and purchase-mortgage estimates for all four quarters of 2014 were revised to reflect just first-lien mortgage originations. Refi loans accounted...[Includes three data tables]

Over the past year speculators have placed some heavy bets against certain publicly traded mortgage companies by shorting their stocks, a “trade” that could be petering out as investors take their money off the table. According to investors and analysts who track companies such as Nationstar Mortgage, Ocwen Financial and Walter Investment Management, the share price of all three has fallen so dramatically that the days of easy profits are over. Ocwen, for example, presently trades...[Includes one data table]

Citadel Loan Servicing this week rolled out something the residential market hasn’t seen in quite some time: a nonprime second lien from a nonbank. But don’t expect a groundswell of copycat loans. Moreover, it’s doesn’t appear that Citadel’s bold move is likely to ignite the return of nonbanks to producing second liens of any type – whether it’s a closed-end second or a line of credit. Anecdotal evidence suggests...