A total of $49.55 billion of commercial mortgages were securitized during the first quarter of 2015, virtually unchanged from the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. But the private CMBS market recorded a significant increase in new issuance. Non-agency CMBS production climbed 31.3 percent from the fourth quarter to hit $30.91 billion, the second-highest three-month output since the financial crisis shut down new issuance in the second quarter of 2008. Compared to the first quarter of 2014, new issuance was up 74.3 percent. The jump in private CMBS issuance helped offset...[Includes one data chart]

To attract large investors, the Treasury Department suggests that non-agency MBS include a deal agent with a fiduciary duty. “Under corporate law, directors must discharge two primary fiduciary duties: duty of care and duty of loyalty,” said Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury on housing finance policy, in a speech late last week. “In the context of private-label securitizations, these duties seemed sensible and logical to us.” He used...

A foreclosure case involving a mortgage pooled in a 2007 non-agency MBS has prompted competing amicus briefs from the Structured Finance Industry Group and California’s attorney general, among others. Yvanova v. New Century Mortgage is under consideration by California’s Supreme Court. The case hinges on whether a borrower can challenge a foreclosure based on a pooling and servicing agreement. The lower court previously ruled in favor of the lender, New Century Mortgage. “SFIG is...

The Treasury Department is making progress corralling various participants in the non-agency mortgage-backed security market, slowly prompting changes aimed at attracting large investors. The effort started nearly a year ago, when Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury on housing finance policy, first proposed the issuance of a benchmark transaction in November. “The benchmark transaction process has reset relationships among transaction parties and is ...

Five Oaks Investment this week issued its first jumbo mortgage-backed security, although the real estate investment trust has contributed to jumbo MBS issued by others. The $267.19 million Oaks Mortgage Trust Series 2015-1 received largely favorable reviews from the rating services, though Five Oaks’ lack of a track record in the jumbo MBS market helped prompt credit enhancement of 8.45 percent on the senior tranche. Both Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service said they found that ...

First Republic Bank maintained its lead as the top contributor to jumbo mortgage-backed securities issued in the first quarter of 2015, according to a ranking by Inside Nonconforming Markets. First Republic was identified as contributing $1.43 billion to jumbo MBS issued during the quarter, accounting for 31.0 percent of all jumbo MBS activity. The bank was also the top jumbo MBS contributor for all of 2014, with $1.46 billion in identified contributions ... [Includes one data chart]

Credit Suisse and Redwood Trust, the two dominant jumbo mortgage-backed securities issuers since 2010, continue to differ in terms of jumbo MBS offerings. While their latest deals include a number of similarities involving credit characteristics, the Redwood deal includes a relatively high share of non-qualified mortgages. The $356.45 million Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2015-2 received AAA ratings with credit enhancement of 5.00 percent on the senior tranche. That’s the lowest ...

Ocwen Financial’s renewed focus on the non-agency market includes plans for much higher margins than what the nonbank produced servicing and originating agency mortgages. However, officials at Ocwen stressed this week that the nonbank is not completely exiting the agency servicing market. Michael Bourque, an executive vice president and CFO at Ocwen, reported that the nonbank had a pre-tax income margin of 33 percent in 2012. By 2014, Ocwen’s margin had declined to ...

The judicial process for Bank of America’s long-pending $8.5 billion settlement involving non-agency MBS issued by Countrywide Financial is near its conclusion and investors could see payouts as soon as August, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. The settlement was announced in 2011, and after years of legal maneuvering, approved by the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court in March. Bank of New York Mellon is the trustee on the 530 non-agency MBS covered by the settlement. “The trustee’s approval application to the New York Supreme Court suggests...

Overall non-agency MBS issuance dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2015, but the jumbo mortgage sector hit its biggest production volume since the financial crisis in late 2008, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. A total of $21.94 billion of non-agency MBS were issued during the first three months of this year, down 0.2 percent from the fourth quarter. The lion’s share of these deals were backed by seasoned loans, either ... [Includes two data charts]