Credit Suisse is preparing to issue a $91.18 million non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by seasoned FHA mortgages, according to a presale report by Moody’s Investors Service. CSMC Trust, Series 2017-FHA1 received a preliminary A1 rating. Credit Suisse was a major issuer of post-crisis jumbo MBS but hasn’t issued a jumbo MBS since the fourth quarter of 2015. Fitch Ratings completed a review this week of 63 non-agency MBS backed by post-crisis originations ...

Real estate investment trusts that focus on the MBS market recorded a modest increase in their MBS holdings during the first quarter of 2017, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. And observers say a pending change in how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac structure their credit-risk transfer programs may boost REIT participation further. The 15 mortgage REITs tracked by Inside MBS & ABS reported a combined $230.82 billion of MBS investment at the end of March, including assets held in the to-be-announced market. That was up 1.6 percent from the end of 2016, though it was still off from year-ago levels. Some 91.8 percent of REIT MBS holdings are...[Includes one data table]

The non-agency MBS market is set to receive a jolt as Wells Fargo plans to return to the space. “This year, one of our aspirations is to come back to the market with a couple of deals,” said Franklin Codel, a senior executive vice president of consumer lending at Wells. “We’re taking a look to make sure we can structure those properly … to try to test the market and see what we can do to bring some confidence back to the private-label market.” The official mentioned the plans late last week during an investor event hosted by Wells. Back in 2007, Wells ranked...

Transfers of servicing from large servicers to smaller firms can help improve loss mitigation performance while introducing new risks to the system, according to industry analysts. Smaller servicers tend to be more “nimble” than large servicers and are better suited to handle distressed mortgages, according to analysts at Moody’s Investors Service. The rating service published a report recently highlighting changes in the servicing industry. Many large servicers, predominantly banks, have reduced...

The securitization of income-property mortgages nosedived in the first quarter of 2017, with most of the downturn in the volatile non-agency sector, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. A total of $48.29 billion of MBS backed by commercial properties was issued in the first quarter, down 27.7 percent from the previous period. Although production was down 6.1 percent from the same period in 2016, it was close to the average quarterly volume of $49.35 billion that the market has produced since the beginning of 2014. The average for the 2011-2013 period was just $32.00 billion. Average volume is...[Includes one data table]

Investors had a strong appetite for new non-agency MBS in the first quarter of 2017, according to issuers. “I am continuously amazed by how quickly we bring a deal out and how quickly the senior bonds gets sold,” Matthew Lambiase, president and CEO of Chimera Investment, said during the real estate investment trust’s earnings call for the first quarter. Chimera issued...

Impac Mortgage Holdings has significantly increased its originations of non-qualified mortgages and plans to package the loans into non-agency mortgage-backed securities. The nonbank originated $184.3 million of non-QMs in the first quarter of 2017, up from $86.3 million in the previous period. In all of 2016, Impac originated $289.6 million in non-QMs. The product accounted for 11.6 percent of Impac’s originations in the first quarter, up from a 2.8 percent share the previous period ...

Investors showed strong appetite for the largest non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by post-crisis nonprime originations. The $402.65 million COLT 2017-1 priced at tighter yields than any other post-crisis rated nonprime MBS amid stronger demand for mortgage credit, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank Securities. The deal from an affiliate of Lone Star Funds priced near the end of April and closed last week. “The transaction was priced at the tightest level ...

Ocwen Financial announced last week that it’s negotiating an agreement with New Residential Investment involving mortgage servicing rights for non-agency mortgages. The agreement would reduce the servicing fee Ocwen receives but provide the company some stability and an equity investment. Before the agreement, New Residential owned rights to MSR on mortgages serviced by Ocwen with an unpaid principal balance of $117.0 billion. The loans are in non-agency ...

Nonprime mortgages held by the government-sponsored enterprises continued a gradual decline in the first quarter of 2017, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held nonprime mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of $133.89 billion at the end of the quarter, down 5.3 percent from the end of 2016 and down 22.1 percent from the first quarter of last year. The holdings are largely ... [Includes one data chart]