The Structured Finance Industry Group has proposed investor-friendly standards for non-agency mortgage-backed securities in an effort to increase activity in the sector. The first “green paper” on Project RMBS 3.0 focuses on representations and warranties, triggers for independent reviews and disclosure of underwriting guidelines. “The goal here is to produce a proposal for standards that we would hope the industry adopts,” said Richard Johns, SFIG’s executive director ...

Morgan Stanley was set to issue its first jumbo mortgage-backed security since the financial crisis this week. The $256.48 million deal differs from most jumbo MBS issued in recent years in that all the loans were sourced from one lender, and they’re all adjustable-rate mortgages, including a fair number of interest-only loans. Morgan Stanley Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2014-1 was scheduled to close Aug. 15. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s gave the deal ...

Redwood Trust is set to significantly increase the number of lenders that sell jumbo mortgages to the real estate investment trust, according to company officials, largely from a new partnership with the Federal Home Loan Banks. Redwood had 140 active sellers at the end of June. The REIT plans to start testing its high-balance loan program with the FHLBanks’ Mortgage Partnership Finance Program in the fourth quarter of this year. Redwood said about 750 of the more than ...

A number of mortgage finance industry groups have expressed concern about how the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule is interfering with the return of private investor capital back into the sector – mostly because of the rule’s assignee liability provisions. The industry comments came in response to a request from the Treasury Department in June for suggestions to encourage private capital to return to the non-agency mortgage-backed securities space. The Association of Institutional Investors said the ATR rule’s assignee liability provision “unfairly punishes investors who have nothing to do with the origination of loans and oftentimes have limited insight into the origination practices.” The assignee liability provision therefore introduces a risk that is almost impossible to price for those not directly involved in ...

Banks need incentives to issue non-agency mortgage-backed securities instead of holding loans in portfolio, according to boosters of the non-agency MBS market. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policies and capital requirements set by federal regulators have played a role in the shift from non-agency MBS issuance to banks holding loans in portfolio. “Historically, major banks were the predominant sponsors of private-label securities transactions, especially for 30-year jumbo fixed-rate loans, which are not a good asset/liability match for their balance sheets,” officials at Redwood Trust noted in a comment letter submitted to the Treasury Department. In June, the Treasury issued a request for comments on how to increase non-agency activity in the mortgage market. In 2013, only 4.8 percent of the estimated $272.0 billion in non-agency jumbo originations were included...

The Structured Finance Industry Group this week proposed the first in a planned long line of standards aimed at increasing transparency for non-agency MBS investors and boosting new issuance. The first edition in the SFIG’s series of “green papers” covers certain representations and warranties, triggers for repurchase, due diligence and communication with investors. Richard Johns, SFIG’s executive director, said about 200 individuals from about 50 organizations involved in the non-agency MBS market have participated in Project RMBS 3.0. “The goal here is...

Officials at Ocwen Financial announced late last week that the company plans to use its clean-up call option on loans backing vintage non-agency MBS that it services. Officials see strong profits in paying off non-agency MBS investors at par and then liquidating real estate owned properties whose loans were included in non-agency MBS. “The opportunity results from the arbitrage of the underlying loans in REO being worth more than the securities,” William Erbey, Ocwen’s executive chairman, said during the servicer’s earnings call for the second quarter of 2014. “In other words, the whole is worth less than the sum of the parts.” He said...

A solid increase in non-agency commercial MBS issuance during the second quarter of 2014 provided most of the lift in new income-property securitizations, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market analysis. A total of $36.69 billion of commercial mortgages were securitized during the second quarter, up 16.1 percent from the first three months of the year. At the midway point in 2014, new CMBS issuance remained 24.7 percent behind the heady levels recorded over the same period last year, which ended up being the market’s highest point since the financial crisis. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae saw...[Includes two data charts]

A trade group representing non-agency MBS investors continues to raise concerns about settlements that give servicers credit for completing loan modifications on mortgages in non-agency MBS. Regulators and others counter that the settlements include protections for the investors, who ultimately benefit from loan mods completed under the settlements. The latest flare-up involves $4.0 billion in loss mitigation actions required of JPMorgan Chase under a recent settlement with federal and state regulators. Last week, the settlement’s monitor credited Chase with $6.31 million in consumer relief under the settlement, with 56 percent of the relief completed on Chase’s own holdings and the remainder completed on loans serviced for others, likely mortgages in non-agency MBS. The settlement prompted...

Efforts to reform the non-agency market may be gathering momentum as the Structured Finance Industry Group is set to reveal its preliminary recommendations for changes to non-agency mortgage-backed securities and comments on the sector’s reform are due to the Treasury Department shortly. Industry participants have plenty of suggestions for how to fix the market, but any revival looks to be years away. On Aug. 4, the SFIG will release “green papers” as part of its Project RMBS 3.0 initiative ...