Interest rate volatility and other issues caused a reduction in jumbo-related profitability at some nonbanks in the first quarter of 2015. However, many nonbank conduits remain optimistic that the jumbo business will pay off, particularly via issuance of mortgage-backed securities. Redwood Trust reported $2.0 million in income from residential mortgage banking activities in the first quarter of 2015, down 80 percent from the previous quarter. The decline was primarily due to lower margins on ...

A unique stop-advance feature included in the jumbo MBS issued by Redwood Trust late last week was viewed favorably by investors, according to officials at the real estate investment trust. “We are pleased not only with the pricing execution on this transaction, but also with the level and depth of AAA investor interest,” Marty Hughes, Redwood’s CEO, said this week. The $356.45 million Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2015-2 included...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to follow orders and prune their retained investment portfolios – and potential future income – during the first quarter of 2015. But the government-sponsored enterprises ended the period holding more of their own MBS than when it started. The combined Fannie/Freddie mortgage investment portfolio fell 0.5 percent during the first quarter of 2015. Under their conservatorship agreement, each GSE is required to reduce its mortgage portfolio to $250 billion by the end of 2018. They each have a little over $150 billion more to go and, as of the end of March, 15 quarters to do it. The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed...[Includes one data chart]

Delinquencies on commercial MBS hit a post-recession low in January before inching up 10 basis points to 4.72 percent the next month, according to figures compiled by Fitch Ratings Service. Then again, Fitch appears to be mostly bullish on the sector, noting that the uptick in late payments was caused by a change in its methodology and that under the old rules delinquencies would have fallen to 4.55 percent. The ratings change excluded deals backed by wireless towers, outdoor advertising and what it calls “certain other non-traditional transactions.” Hotel collateral has...

The overall size of the single-family mortgage servicing market isn’t changing much, but the dynamics of the business continued to shift in early 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The Federal Reserve won’t provide an official reading on single-family mortgage debt outstanding as of the end of the first quarter for another month or so, but the data point to little or no growth in the market during early 2015. Mortgage originations were...[Includes two data charts]

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 ...