The prepayment rates for ABS backed by Property Assessed Clean Energy programs are on the rise which can have mixed effects on the notes, warned Morningstar Credit Ratings in a new report. The monthly annualized conditional prepayment rates averages for residential PACE ABS rated by Morningstar have been increasing from “single digits to high teens” since 2016, said the credit rating service. “Investors should pay attention to prepayment rates because they can have ...

Interest-only loans represent a growing share of collateral securitized by commercial MBS conduits over the past few years. Credit rating agencies are concerned because IO loans generally perform worse than amortizing mortgages.

California remained the biggest market in the U.S. for primary mortgage insurance during the second quarter, but other states had higher proportions of insured loans, according to an Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of agency loan-level data. In Florida, Virginia and Georgia, more than 60 percent of agency loans carried some form of primary mortgage insurance ... [Includes one data chart]

The mortgage industry this week continued to look for ways to resolve the VA streamline refi loan mess, which arose from the implementation of statutory seasoning requirements under the Dodd-Frank reform act, even as Ginnie Mae pointed to Congress to come up with a solution. At issue is approximately $500 million worth of “orphaned” VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans that are now ineligible for Ginnie Mae securitization. The Mortgage Bankers Association is asking Congress for a legislative fix but is also looking for other forms of relief. Pete Mills, MBA’s senior vice president of residential policy and member management, is trying to drum up investor interest in the orphan loans, which, for now, appear destined for the secondary “scratch and dent” market. More buyers could potentially generate higher bids for the loans and lower losses for nonbanks that could not deliver them ...

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS fell to $223.2 billion in June, a slight decline from the month prior, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The easing of qualified-mortgage standards under the Dodd-Frank reform bill could be credit negative for nonprime residential MBS backed by loans originated by nonbanks, Moody’s Investors Service said. But an industry expert disagrees.

Non-agency MBS investors might not be aware of the differences in representations and warranties provided by issuers of new non-agency MBS, according to Fitch Ratings. In a recent report, the rating service noted that issuers are diverging from standard practices in terms of “full” rep-and-warrant frameworks.

The spring homebuying season fueled a relatively modest increase in production of Ginnie Mae single-family mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter of 2018, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending ranking and analysis. Lenders issued $98.66 billion of Ginnie MBS backed by forward mortgages during the April-May cycle. That was up 6.6 percent from the first three months of the year, but 2018 continued to lag behind the pace set in 2017 by 10.7 percent. Given current trends, annual Ginnie MBS issuance in 2018 could fall short of the $400 billion mark for the first time since 2014. The flow of FHA and VA purchase mortgages was up a solid 23.7 percent from the first to the second quarter, bringing the total for the first half of the year to $121.01 billion. However, that was down 4.7 percent from the same period in 2017. Ginnie securitized $75.02 billion of FHA purchase loans in the ... [Charts]

Collectively, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recorded a modest increase in new single-family business from the first quarter of 2018 to the second, but the bird’s-eye view misses some key details. [Includes three data charts.]

Freddie Mac saw a strong rebound in its single-family business during the second quarter following a sluggish start to the year. Freddie guaranteed $82.23 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter, a romping 28.6 percent increase from the first three months of the year. The GSE produced just $63.93 billion of MBS in the first three months of 2018, its slackest quarter in almost four years. Fannie’s single-family business was off slightly in the second quarter as MBS issuance declined to $111.36 billion – its weakest output since the first three months of 2016. [Includes two data charts.]