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.]

Fitch Ratings has lowered its loss expectations by an average of 20 basis points for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac credit risk transfers for the second half of the year. Strong collateral performance coupled with increased home price appreciation and a shorter term to maturity has led to the lower loss projections. In fact, Fitch noted that home prices in the respective pools have increased by 20 percent on average since issuance and 3.5 percent since January.

DBRS maintained its lead position as the top rating service in the non-agency MBS market during the first quarter of 2018, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking. [Includes two data charts.]

Ginnie Mae has added a new metric to make it easier for approved issuers to track the prepayment rates of single-family loans underlying they have delivered into mortgage-backed securities. The new prepayment metric would enhance Ginnie’s Issuer Operational Performance Profile (IOPP) tool, which was launched in 2015 to help issuers measure their performance against the agency’s standards. The new tool is the latest move by Ginnie to ensure the integrity and market predictability of Ginnie MBS. The prepayment tool will be available to lenders beginning June 25. The announcement follows an agency administrative action last week against three VA lenders that were penalized for cherry picking and refinancing unseasoned VA loans not to benefit borrowers but to charge them higher fees. The lenders – Freedom Mortgage, SunWest Mortgage Co. and NewDay USA – were among nine issuers that ...

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS climbed to $226.1 billion in May, the second consecutive monthly increase, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

ABS issuers are boosting the quality of marketplace loans in new deals due to rising delinquency rates, but not enough to convince Fitch Ratings that such issuance deserves AAA ratings.