Overall non-agency MBS issuance dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2015, but the jumbo mortgage sector hit its biggest production volume since the financial crisis in late 2008, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. A total of $21.94 billion of non-agency MBS were issued during the first three months of this year, down 0.2 percent from the fourth quarter. The lion’s share of these deals were backed by seasoned loans, either ... [Includes two data charts]

In an effort to convince large investors to buy AAA tranches of non-agency MBS, the benchmark transaction under development with help from the Treasury Department will include a deal agent or transaction manager. “Part of the centerpiece [of the non-agency MBS benchmark transaction] is around the role of a new player in these transactions, an independent deal agent that represents the interests of the investors,” said Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury ...

Vintage prime adjustable-rate mortgages went delinquent at a rate 30 percent higher when they were securitized privately, according to an economist with the Federal Reserve System. The study was based on mortgages originated in 2005 and 2006, at the height of the aggressive underwriting in the non-agency mortgage market. “We find that private-securitized loans perform worse than observably similar, non-securitized loans, which provides evidence for adverse selection ...

Use of a deal agent in new non-agency mortgage-backed securities will help convince large investors to return to the market, according to industry participants. The benchmark non-agency MBS in the works with help from the Treasury Department will include a deal agent, according to Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury on housing finance policy. At a talk this week hosted by the Financial Services Roundtable and CoreLogic, Stegman noted that Treasury continues to ...

The latest jumbo mortgage-backed security from Two Harbors Investment is set to have the lowest credit enhancement levels of any deal issued this year, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Strong performance and underwriting characteristics along with repeat issuance appears to have helped decrease credit enhancement requirements for the transaction. The $241.06 million Agate Bay Mortgage Trust 2015-3 received a preliminary AAA rating ... [Includes one data chart]

Ocwen Financial had a rough 2014, but officials at the nonbank suggest the company will be profitable in 2015 and beyond. Ocwen faces a number of outstanding issues, including questions from an independent auditor regarding the nonbank’s ability to operate as a going concern. Ocwen reported a preliminary net loss of $546.29 million in 2014 compared with net income of $310.42 million in 2013. Officials at the nonbank said the loss for 2014 incorporates the impact of ...

The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and MAX Exchange announced a pilot program that will allow members of the New York FHLBank to sell jumbo whole loans on an open exchange platform. MAX Exchange is a peer-to-peer trading platform and clearing house for mortgages. The pilot program will include a limited number of pre-approved traditional secondary mortgage investors and a limited number of New York FHLBank members ... [Includes six briefs]

New Residential Investment plans to complete an asset purchase with Home Loan Servicing Solutions instead of a merger, the firms announced this week. New Residential agreed to pay HLSS $1.4 billion, largely in cash. The sale substantially mitigates servicer advance funding risk, according to industry analysts. The firms said New Residential acquired substantially all of the assets of HLSS and assumed substantially all of HLSS’ liabilities ...

Some $4.60 billion in jumbo mortgage-backed securities were issued in the first quarter of 2015, the highest quarterly volume seen in the aftermath of the financial crisis, according to Inside Nonconforming Markets. Jumbo MBS activity has had large swings in recent years due to shifting investor appetite and volume hasn’t been anywhere near the levels seen before 2008. However, the market recovered from an unexpected increase in interest rates ... [Includes one data chart]

Mortgage and asset securitization started 2015 with improving issuance volume and a chance to reverse last year’s paltry output. A total of $335.1 billion of residential MBS and non-mortgage ABS were issued during the first three months of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. That was up 7.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014, and it was a big 34.3 percent jump from the first quarter of last year. The first quarter of 2014 was...[Includes two data charts]