Converting real estate owned properties to rental units is still in its infancy but it could be a compelling asset type for investors. If securitized, it could provide a much-needed boost to the real estate market, according to Standard & Poor’s. In a recent analysis, S&P suggested taking the government’s REO-to-rent pilot program a step further and consider securitizing the rental streams from a pool of underlying REO assets, which could potentially provide a steady cash flow to back securitization transactions. Proceeds from the eventual sale of the properties could also be incorporated into the cash...

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held onto their ample shares of mortgage-backed securities with something of a bump during the first quarter of 2012, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. The GSEs issued a combined $303.9 billion in MBS during the first quarter, a 13.9 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2011. Compared to the first quarter of last year, Fannie and Freddie saw a 16.4 percent increase in MBS issuance. Between the two companies, Fannie and Freddie registered a plentiful 77.9 percent share of new MBS during the period that ended March 31, 2012, up from 77.1 percent the two companies held during the fourth quarter of 2011 and much farther apart from the 74.8 percent both GSEs held during the first quarter of 2011.

Look for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to press its multiple legal actions against many of the nation’s biggest issuers of non-agency mortgage-backed securities after a federal judge rejected a bid by UBS Americas to turn back the FHFA’s lawsuit over its sale of non-agency MBS to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Judge Denise Cote, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, two weeks ago denied UBS’ motion to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds, while dismissing the FHFA’s negligent misrepresentation claims. The FHFA, as GSE conservator, sued UBS in July 2011 alleging that billions of dollars of MBS purchased by Fannie and Freddie were based on offering documents that contained “materially false statements and omissions.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association is pushing a proposal to change the remittance schedule on Freddie Mac participation certificates and make them fully fungible with Fannie Mae pass-through MBS for good delivery under to-be-announced guidelines. The proposal would address the historical discount to Fannie MBS at which Freddie securities trade, said MBA President Dave Stevens during the group’s National Secondary Market Conference in New York this week. Freddie PCs typically trade 1 or 1.5 points behind Fannie MBS, a difference that Freddie Mac – and ultimately U.S. taxpayers, now that the government-sponsored...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported robust activity in their expanded refinance programs for underwater borrowers, while Ginnie Mae is looking at new procedures to identify the potential new issuers that are most likely to become strong participants in its program. Freddie officials are very focused on the expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program, said Paul Mullings, senior VP for single-family sourcing at the government-sponsored enterprise. He told attendees at the Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference in New York this week that HARP now accounts for 26 percent of the refi loan...

Part of the cost to issue non-agency MBS under the new rules of the road is a stronger commitment to due diligence reviews of the collateral backing the transaction, and experts note that the process is more complex than just hiring one of the handful of companies that provide these services. “There are three basic constituencies you need to satisfy during third-party reviews,” said Eric Kaplan, managing director of mortgage finance at Shellpoint Partners during a session at the Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference. “There’s the law, the ratings agencies and investors...

The retained mortgage investment portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been reliable generators of net income over the past few years, but the government-sponsored enterprises continue to shrink the profit centers under the terms of their federal bailout. Fannie and Freddie held a combined $1.310 trillion in mortgage-related investments at the end of the first quarter of 2012, down 3.8 percent from the previous quarter. The GSEs’ combined portfolios were down 9.6 percent from the same period in 2011; their agreements with the Treasury Department call for annual...(Includes one data chart)

“The private market will never come back if the best deal for the private investor is the government,” Lewis Ranieri, chairman and founding partner of Ranieri Partners, said this week at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Secondary Market Conference in New York City. Talk at the conference focused on almost anything other than activity in the non-agency market. David Stevens, president and CEO of the MBA, said dealing with repurchase issues ...

After a tough economic environment had officials at Redwood Trust considering whole loan sales in lieu of non-agency securitization, the real estate investment trust revealed last week that it profited from the two securities it issued during the first quarter of 2012. However, the REIT is still set to complete some whole-loan sales and even intends to add conforming-balance loans to its product menu ...

Ginnie Mae has announced new data disclosures effective Sept. 1, but investors say it is information they do not need. These include indicators identifying first-time homebuyers, type of third-party originator, and the upfront and annual mortgage insurance premiums. The new disclosures will provide greater transparency on the collateral that backs Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities, the agency explained in its latest guidance to program participants. The move also aligns Ginnie Mae’s data disclosures with the industry, it added. Issuers that are unable initially to provide the data will ...