Fitch Ratings revised its criteria for rating non-agency mortgage-backed securities backed by non-qualified mortgages last week. The new standards set the stage for Fitch to rate nonprime non-QM MBS. The new non-QM criteria from Fitch include expanded product assumptions for rating nonprime mortgages and loans to self-employed or non-wage-earning borrowers. When determining litigation liability, Fitch said it will make a distinction between non-QMs for “very high ...

Ginnie Mae issued $93.41 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities during the first three months of 2016, an 8.6 percent drop from the previous quarter, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of loan-level MBS data, excluding FHA reverse-mortgage activity. Early 2016 was the slowest market in a year for Ginnie MBS production, though it still was stronger than most of the agency’s pre-2015 business. And issuance in the first quarter of 2016 was 17.0 percent ahead of the volume produced during the same period last year. The soft spot in the first quarter was FHA lending, especially purchase-mortgage activity. Issuers delivered $54.44 billion of FHA loans into Ginnie MBS during the period, a 12.1 percent drop from the fourth quarter, including a 15.0 percent decline in FHA purchase mortgages. Securitization of VA loans fell by a ... [4 charts].

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a slight decline in their single-family mortgage business during the first three months of 2016 – in fact, it was the slowest quarter in nearly two years – according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. The two government-sponsored enterprises issued $172.97 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities during the first quarter of this year, a 3.4 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2015. It was the slowest three-month volume since the second quarter of 2014, and the fourth-lowest output since the GSEs were put in conservatorship back in 2008. The slowdown stemmed...[Includes three data tables]

Although interest rates have been trending downward for much of the year, it hasn’t stopped mortgage firms from selling one of their most prized assets: mortgage servicing rights. According to a new tally from Inside Mortgage Finance, almost $27 billion in MSR auctions have been announced since March 1, with some bulk deals sized as high as $6.2 billion dollars. At least 16 offerings have been announced...

The Association of Mortgage Investors wrote to the CFPB last week for guidance on the integrated disclosure rule known as TRID, warning that the marketplace woes stemming from the new rule may extend to the conforming mortgage loan market. “The recent evidence is that the rule, while extremely well-intentioned, has resulted in a climate of legal uncertainty and is chilling private investment in the U.S. mortgage market,” said Chris Katopis, executive director of the AMI. Further, “We urge the bureau to open a new public comment period to address the concerns of mortgage investors,” he added. “We seek formal written guidance clarifying the liability for a violation of each individual TRID requirement, as well as the scope and applicability of ...

A single mortgage would have to meet nearly 150 requirements to achieve compliance with the TRID integrated disclosure rule, according to a framework proposed last week by members of the Structured Finance Industry Group. Third-party due diligence firms will test loans for most of the rule’s requirements, according to a draft of the TRID compliance “review scope” obtained by Inside Nonconforming Markets, an affiliated publication. Since the integrated disclosure rule took effect in October, due diligence firms have found widespread violations on non-agency mortgages, limiting sales of loans with violations due to liability concerns. The SFIG proposal suggests that many of the TRID compliance violations could be cured after being uncovered by a due diligence firm, but violations of about ...

Due diligence firms led an effort to issue a draft proposal late last week that would establish a standardized approach for reviewing compliance with the TRID mortgage-disclosure rule. The effort organized by the Structured Finance Industry Group was met with praise by industry participants. “The draft proposal represents a significant step forward for developing an industry standard treatment of errors related to the new residential mortgage disclosure requirements,” Fitch Ratings said. TRID is industry shorthand for a new integrated disclosure rule that covers requirements under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Third-party due diligence providers have identified...

The new refinance program being developed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers with high loan-to-value ratios will not be available for homeowners who have already used the Home Affordable Refinance Program, according to the regulator of the two government-sponsored enterprises. The Federal Housing Finance Agency this year directed Fannie and Freddie to develop a replacement program for HARP, which will sunset at the end of 2016. MBS investors have been concerned...[Includes one data table]

Payments were improperly allocated among tranches of a $644.12 million non-agency MBS issued in November 2014 for about a year before being addressed, according to the firms that placed ratings on the deal. RPMLT 2014-1 Trust was issued by Credit Suisse’s DLJ Mortgage Capital and backed by re-performing mortgages. The payment problems appear to be tied to improper reporting by Rushmore Loan Management Services, the servicer of the MBS, and Wells Fargo Bank, the securities administrator for the deal. Fitch Ratings said...

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS climbed to $201.4 billion in February, the best reading in nine months and a sign that investors will still flock to government-backed products in times of uncertainty, especially extreme uncertainty. Late this week, market watchers expressed their concerns about the terrorist bombings in Belgium as well as continued worries about China’s slowing economy and sagging oil prices. In short order, they piled into MBS issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. Barry Habib, who runs MBS Highway, a rate-lock service, told...