Together, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September posted a combined increase in the volume of single-family mortgages securitized, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Fannie and Freddie issued $64.1 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities in September, a 4.9 percent increase from August. However, September’s MBS issuance was down 56.7 percent on a year-to-date basis.

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee brought the latest installment in its quantitative easing programs to a conclusion this week, but the central bank will continue to reinvest principal payments back into agency MBS. The FOMC also reaffirmed the current 0 to 0.25 percent target range for the federal funds rate. “The committee anticipates … that it likely will be appropriate to maintain the 0 to 0.25 percent target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time following the end of its asset purchase program this month, especially if projected inflation continues to run below the committee’s 2 percent longer-run goal, and provided that longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored.” And as usual, the Fed left...

Issuers of non-agency MBS should be able to price loans that don’t meet the standards for qualified mortgages at nearly the same levels as QMs, according to Andrew Davidson & Co., a firm that provides risk analytics on non-agency MBS. Non-QMs actually perform better than similar QMs in certain scenarios, as long as underwriting on the products is strong. Beginning in late 2015, non-QMs included in new non-agency MBS will trigger risk-retention requirements. Only mortgages that meet QM standards will be deemed to be qualified residential mortgages and exempt from risk retention. Interest-only mortgages appear...

Fannie Mae and JPMorgan Chase announced this week they are partnering in a new risk-sharing vehicle that features recourse provided to the government-sponsored enterprise on nearly $1 billion of new Chase originations. Separately, Freddie Mac has priced two more Structured Agency Credit Risk Transactions. JPMorgan Madison Avenue Securities Trust 2014-1 will simulate the behavior of a $989 million pool of JPMorgan-originated mortgages delivered into Fannie-guaranteed MBS. While similar to Fannie’s Connecticut Avenue Securities program, there are...

Roughly $4.7 billion of securities backed by loans on packages of single-family rental units have come to market this year with more on the way between now and yearend. But with real estate values increasing, the “easy money” may be in the past. “So far, all of the transactions we’ve seen have been single-loan deals,” said Nitin Bhasin, a managing director within Kroll Bond Rating Agency’s structured finance group. Bhasin anticipates...

The new net worth and liquidity requirements and other policy changes announced by Ginnie Mae last week should be viewed in light of the agency’s increased servicer risk stemming from a “new breed” of entities that have entered the market in the wake of the financial crisis, according to analysts. The sharp increase in the share of non-bank servicers has significantly altered Ginnie Mae’s risk exposure to servicer issues, noted analysts at Barclays. “Specifically, the liquidity and capitalization of these non-bank servicers, which are not subject to such requirements for bank servicers, leaves Ginnie Mae exposed to servicing disruptions,” they said. In 2015, Ginnie Mae will adjust...

While originations of loans that don’t meet standards for qualified mortgages can subject lenders to increased liability, underwriting and compensating factors can help limit risks from non-QMs, according to Moody’s Investors Service. “Non-QM loans typically carry higher default risks than QM loans, but lenders can mitigate those risks by originating loans with attributes that compensate for the weaknesses that put the loans outside of the QM guidelines,” analysts at Moody’s said in a report published late last week. The rating service said...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Obama administration could secure their legacies during the next two years by releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship as two stable and smaller government-sponsored enterprises, say some experts. Speaking during a conference call sponsored by GSE shareholder rights group Investors Unite, Clifford Rossi – founder and principal at Chesapeake Risk Advisors – reiterated his call for an administrative solution that would recapitalize the GSEs and bring them out of conservatorship under strict conditions. “Knowing that it’s going to be an uphill battle to get any sort of resolution from Congress, it could be...

Six federal regulators approved a final rule this week setting risk-retention requirements for residential MBS transactions, exempting the entire agency MBS universe and non-agency securities backed by qualified mortgages. There is not that much left. The risk-retention requirements for residential mortgages will take effect one year after the final rule is published in the Federal Register, which is expected shortly. Regulators opted to align the definition for qualified-residential mortgages with the standards established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for QMs. The sponsor of a non-agency MBS that includes non-QRMs will have to retain at least 5.0 percent of the balance of the security, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. In 2011, federal regulators proposed...

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae have been around for decades and they dominate the residential MBS market, but the agencies are not standing still. Pushed by their federal conservator, Fannie and Freddie are rebuilding their securitization infrastructure and trying to reinvent how they do business with mortgage sellers. At the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association this week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced an agreement in principle on changes to the representations-and-warranties framework used by the government-sponsored enterprises. Ginnie officials disclosed new issuer eligibility standards and performance evaluations. “GSE reform does not mean...