The development of a deal agent for new non-agency MBS has spanned years, with industry participants working toward the best way to compensate the new transaction party, among other issues. A deal agent would have a fiduciary duty to investors, oversee enforcement of representations and warranties, and monitor various participants in a security. The new role is significant because some major investors say that after suffering major losses on MBS issued before the financial crisis, a deal agent is required for them to buy new securities. Clayton Holdings was...

The Treasury Department last week released a report that called for regulatory reforms aimed to help boost non-agency originations and market share. Many of the reforms relating to the non-agency market could be completed without action from Congress. However, most of them are overseen by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Treasury’s recommendations appear unlikely to be enacted as long as Richard Cordray is director of the CFPB. Treasury sought input ...

One of the most significant variables industry participants are working to address in terms of introducing a deal agent into non-agency mortgage-backed securities is the fee structure. Issuers are trying to balance paying for the services provided by a deal agent without diverting too much cash flow from investors in non-agency MBS. The fee structure will also play a key role in how rating services treat MBS that have a deal agent, with issuers looking for favorable treatment ...

Representations and warranties on new nonprime mortgage-backed securities often include weaknesses that limit their ability to protect investors against fraudulent or defective loans, according to an analysis by Moody’s Investors Service. However, the rating service said current practices and dynamics in the nonprime MBS market help to mitigate the risks from weak reps and warranties. Moody’s hasn’t placed ratings on nonprime MBS backed by ... [Includes four briefs]

Ginnie Mae hit a milestone in the MBS market during the first quarter of 2017, edging past Freddie Mac to become the second-largest supplier of single-family MBS in the world. A new Inside MBS & ABS analysis reveals $1.705 trillion of Ginnie 1-4 family MBS outstanding at the end of March, a 2.2 percent increase in just three months. Meanwhile, outstanding single-family Freddie MBS rose 0.7 percent to $1.703 trillion. Both Ginnie and Freddie accounted...[Includes two data tables]

The Trump administration wants to pare back regulations that inhibit the non-agency MBS and ABS market and tilt current securitization economics that favor the government-sponsored enterprises over private issuers. “In order to revitalize a responsible [private-label securities] market, it is important to improve incentives for issuers through reasonable reductions in costs and regulatory burdens,” the Treasury Department said in a new report released this week. In particular, it aimed at adjusting relative economics for the government-sponsored enterprises and FHA/VA mortgage programs. On the regulatory side, Treasury recommends...

The agency servicing market grew steadily in the first quarter of 2017, as the business continued to slide toward nonbanks, a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis reveals. The Federal Reserve late last week reported that total residential mortgage debt outstanding rose 0.7 percent during the first quarter, hitting $10.330 trillion. It marked the eighth consecutive quarterly increase since the sector hit its post-crash low in March 2015 at $9.912 trillion. Most of the growth came from the agency market, although portfolio holdings – including nonbanks – were...[Includes two data tables]

June is shaping up to be a strong month for the non-agency MBS market with a handful of new deals that reflect the character of the sector: a reliance on scratch-and-dent transactions mixed with an emerging nonprime component and opportunistic prime jumbo issuance. Five non-agency MBS totaling $1.90 billion hit the market in the first week of June, with three S&D deals accounting for $1.30 billion of the total. The biggest of these was...

American International Group’s jumbo conduit has purchased a significant volume of mortgages in the past year and has plans to issue non-agency mortgage-backed securities. As of April, AIG Investments had purchased prime jumbo mortgages with an original balance of approximately $4.80 billion, according to Fitch Ratings. AIG launched its residential mortgage lending division in 2013 and has ramped up acquisition activity since then. Fitch recently assessed...

Credit Suisse this week issued a $91.2 million non-agency MBS backed by seasoned FHA mortgages. CSMC 2017-FHA1 marked the first non-agency securitization of re-performing FHA mortgages since 2010. The deal received an A rating from DBRS and an A1 rating from Moody’s Investors Service with subordination of 16.50 percent on the senior tranche. Moody’s cited a number of credit “challenges,” including uncertainty about FHA insurance payouts for liquidated mortgages, insufficient information on loan modifications and weak representations and warranties. The mortgages in the deal have...