The delinquency rate on non-qualified mortgages in mortgage-backed securities remains low, as issuers are largely avoiding risk-layering. As of the end of 2017, the average current-to-delinquent roll rate for non-QMs in MBS seasoned for one year was 0.4 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Only three non-QM loans tracked by CoreLogic have liquidated so far, and none realized a loss. Non-QM MBS have thicker credit enhancement than ... [Includes one data chart]

A new expanded-prime mortgage-backed security from Redwood Trust is nearly 40.0 percent larger than the prior deal from the real estate investment trust. Redwood is set to issue the $444.29 million Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2018-CH-1, following a similar $320.30 million deal in November and a $307.64 million deal in September, the first from Redwood to focus on loans from the firm’s Choice program. Choice mortgages have slightly wider underwriting standards than ...

Flagstar Bank is set to issue its third jumbo mortgage-backed security in as many quarters, according to presale reports published this week. The bank plans to issue a $487.66 million deal, which follows a $576.44 million deal from October and a $443.79 million issuance in July. Underwriting characteristics across the three MBS are largely similar. The new issuance includes mortgages with an average credit score of 761, an average combined loan-to-value ratio of 67.4 percent and ...

A bank owned by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America is preparing to issue a $381.5 million jumbo MBS, according to presale reports published this week. Only two other banks are actively issuing jumbo MBS: JPMorgan Chase and Flagstar Bank.

Citadel Servicing’s foray into securitizing home loans that don’t meet the qualified-mortgage test is now slated for some time in March, after multiple delays, according to sources familiar with the company’s operations. The nonbank’s first nonprime deal is expected to be roughly $150 million.

The Federal Home Loan Banks may be required to jointly establish at least one entity to aggregate conventional mortgages and use a new government program to issue guaranteed MBS under draft legislation from Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN.

Analysts are expecting private capital to play a much greater role in housing finance in 2018 through both non-agency MBS and additional credit-risk transfers from the government-sponsored enterprises, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Losses on non-agency MBS backed by re-performing loans issued in recent years have been minimal, according to DBRS. Performance has been helped by home price appreciation, and the one deal to suffer significant losses was an outlier in terms of the types of loans it included.

Market share for lenders whose loans were included in prime jumbo mortgage-backed securities was much more dispersed in 2017 than the previous year, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. JPMorgan Chase – the top issuer of jumbo MBS – remained the lender with the most collateral for new deals. But the bank reduced its jumbo deliveries by a whopping 65.1 percent from 2016 to just $1.58 billion last year. That was still tops in the market, accounting for 14.5 percent of the loans pooled in $10.88 billion of ... [Includes two data charts]

An affiliate of Invictus Capital Partners issued its latest nonprime mortgage-backed security this week and Deephaven Mortgage is preparing to close a deal. Invictus’s $249.0 million Verus Securitization Trust 2018-1 received AAA ratings from Morningstar Credit Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. Its senior tranche was supported by subordinated bonds equaling 37.5 percent of the deal. The loans had an average credit score of 700, an average combined loan-to-value ratio of 71.1 percent and ...