Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs this week announced it has set aside $1.45 billion for legal expenses for the second quarter of 2015, bringing its total anticipated legal costs so far to $5.9 billion to settle Department of Justice claims stemming from the sale of vintage non-agency MBS. A good chunk of that figure – $270 million – is expected to be tapped to resolve residential MBS litigation brought by pension funds led by NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund of Illinois ...

Freddie Mac’s first Whole Loan Securities deal was met with strong demand from investors, according to industry analysts. The transaction differed in a number of ways from the risk-sharing deals the government-sponsored enterprises have issued, as its structure was more like a non-agency MBS. The $300.27 million WLS 2015-SC01 included senior tranches with a total balance of $278 million and credit enhancement of 7.50 percent. Investors could purchase the senior ...

Close to one-third of the $154.79 billion in non-agency MBS serviced by Ocwen Financial is subject to potential servicing transfers due to downgrades to the firm’s servicer ratings and actions by investors. However, Ocwen has managed to retain servicing on a vast majority of the 119 deals thus far, helped by the proceeds the company delivers to non-agency MBS investors. Ocwen faces the potential loss of non-agency MBS servicing on two fronts. Some $43.1 billion ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reduced their retained mortgage portfolios by a combined $44.4 billion during the second quarter, a period during which the government-sponsored enterprises posted substantial increases in net earnings. Freddie Mac’s non-agency MBS holdings declined 11.6 percent, while its un-securitized whole-loan portfolio dropped 3.0 percent. The GSE sold $3.3 billion of non-agency MBS and securitized $2.1 billion of single-family ... [Includes one data chart]

Two Harbors Investment is ramping up its conduit activity with plans to increase issuance of jumbo mortgage-backed securities and a new non-qualified-mortgage offering. The real estate investment trust is on track to issue its fifth jumbo MBS of the year this month. Bill Roth, Two Harbors’ CIO, said the REIT could issue as many as 10 jumbo MBS this year. He said that as of the end of June, the REIT’s pipeline for jumbo acquisitions was approximately $1.3 billion ...

Two of the most prolific issuers of jumbo mortgage-backed securities this year have offered investors some variety with their latest deals. JPMorgan Chase stocked its deal with older loans while Two Harbors Investment has focused on fresh originations. Last week, Chase issued JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2015-5. The $489.64 million deal was backed by loans with a weighted average loan age of 28.9 months, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The MBS ...

Nearly two years after facing difficulty selling a jumbo mortgage-backed security, Shellpoint Partners is preparing to issue a new deal. The $269.29 million Shellpoint Co-Originator Trust 2015-1 is set to receive AAA ratings with credit enhancement of 8.30 percent on the senior tranche, according to a presale report from DBRS. The deal includes originations from Shellpoint’s New Penn Financial along with contributions from 30 other lenders. Shellpoint issued its first jumbo MBS ...

Ocwen Financial looks to be close to completing its downsizing through servicing sales that will leave its non-agency mortgage portfolio mostly intact. The nonbank is also working toward being able to acquire servicing again and has plans to boost originations. Ocwen handled servicing on $154.79 billion in non-agency mortgages as of the end of the second quarter of 2015, including subservicing. The unpaid principal balance of non-agency mortgages ...

Fitch Ratings updated its criteria for estimating losses on mortgages in non-agency mortgage-backed securities this week. The main change for jumbo MBS involves the treatment of retail originations by lenders that have not been reviewed by Fitch. Previously, retail originations from such lenders would not receive positive consideration in the calculation for the probability of default. The rating service will now apply the retail benefit to ... [Includes three briefs]

Over the past few weeks, an unconfirmed rumor was making the rounds that Bank of America would once again begin securitizing newly originated mortgages through Fannie Mae. But a quick check with both parties indicates that the “cold war” between the two isn’t likely to thaw anytime soon. Terry Francisco, a spokesman for BofA said the bank is only selling Home Affordable Refinance Program loans to Fannie. The bank, he noted, discontinued securitizing newly originated non-HARP loans through the government-sponsored enterprise in 2012. According to figures compiled by Inside MBS & ABS, over the past three years almost all of the non-refinance activity between the two has centered...