The total unpaid principal balance of subprime mortgages outstanding continued its slow decline in 2016, ending the year at an estimated $255.0 billion, according to Inside Nonconforming Markets. Subprime performance was mixed in the fourth quarter, with the share of loans past due increasing compared with the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Some 14.28 percent of mortgages were past due as of the end of the ... [Includes one data chart]

Limitations spanning more than three years on Ocwen Financial’s ability to acquire servicing could be ending soon. Company officials stress that a resumption of servicing acquisitions will help Ocwen see some benefits from economies of scale. In the three years since the New York Department of Financial Services started preventing Ocwen from acquiring servicing, Ocwen’s portfolio has declined by more than 50.0 percent, hitting an unpaid principal balance of $209.09 billion ...

Potential mortgage borrowers with bad credit or no credit should proceed with caution if they have been offered a subprime mortgage, according to advice from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB published a blog post this week focusing on the homebuying process for people with “poor” credit scores. The post, part of a series on home purchase advice, was authored by Megan Thibos, a policy analyst with the CFPB’s mortgage markets team. The post suggested that ...

The $356.40 million jumbo mortgage-backed security JPMorgan Chase issued in February 2014 has performed well, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Since issuance, the rating service said JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2014-1 has experienced minimal delinquencies, no credit-based loan modifications and no losses. As of the end of January, the MBS had an unpaid principal balance of $202.30 million and one mortgage in the deal was 30 days ... [Includes two briefs]

The bank statement loans and TRID exceptions prompted Fitch to apply higher loss severities to the MBS, which play a role in credit enhancement levels…

SFIG Executive Director Richard Johns suggested that instead of removing requirements for risk-retention, policymakers could provide capital relief for issuers that retain risk on their securities, rewarding “good behavior.”

Altisource Residential said its goal is to build a large portfolio of SFRs “targeted to operate at a best-in-class yield.”

Fannie Mae cut its portfolio of Fannie MBS by 42.9 percent last year...

The nonagency/nonprime MBS market is expected to get some attention at the SFIG show, but not much…

With Republicans now in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, Hensarling plans to make even more cuts to regulations for rating services.