The new licensing requirement represents a major shift for the MBS market, with participants scrambling to either comply or avoid loans in the state. A challenge to the requirements appears likely.

Although Acra Lending could have new owners soon, it continues to strike partnerships. The latest one involves selling non-QMs to an insurance company.

Issuance of prime non-agency MBS tripled from 2023 to 2024, boosting the market to its best year since 2021. Expanded-credit mortgage securitization accounted for 34% of non-agency issuance last year. (Includes three data tables.)

Trump has nominated Bill Pulte to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency; Fitch upgrades master servicer rating on Mr. Cooper; new ABS issuer.

Many analysts are projecting increases for issuance of MBS and ABS in 2025. Delinquencies are also expected to rise, though not to troublesome levels.

Analysts say many of the economic forces that have acted as headwinds for the agency MBS market since 2022 are now poised to become tailwinds.

The new model used for rating securitizations of closed-end second liens will be more lenient than the previous model, thanks to improvements to underwriting standards following the financial crisis.

DOJ sees no issues for MBS, ABS from new rule restricting foreign access to Americans’ personal data; Momnt Technologies 2023 ABS issuance facing performance issues; Redwood rebrands prime residential mortgage aggregation unit to match MBS shelf.

Agency pass-through MBS remain the most popular asset in bank holding company trading accounts, but there was a sharp increase in agency multifamily securities during the third quarter.

The securitization rate for residential mortgages hit an estimated 68.6% in the third quarter, as more conventional-conforming loans flowed into GSE MBS.