Even though modified loans represent a larger share of non-agency MBS trusts these days, structured product analysts at Wells Fargo Securities have detected a notable year-over-year decrease in modifications. To be sure, modified loans have become an increasing portion of such trusts lately. “About 62 percent of subprime in terms of [unpaid principal balance] has been modified, 39 percent of option adjustable-rate mortgages, 31 percent of Alt A, and 19 percent of prime,” the analysts reported. “Modification activity, however, has slowed down...

Risk weights established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision for holdings of securitized assets won’t have much of an impact on U.S. banks, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. It’s unclear which banks the risk weights will be applied to and many U.S. banks have transitioned to similar methods to evaluate capital requirements for their holdings of MBS and ABS. The BCBS issued a revised framework for calculating risk weights on banks’ securitization exposures in December. The framework is set to take effect in certain countries beginning in 2018. It was issued to address concerns that banks were holding insufficient capital for certain securitized assets and to reduce the reliance on external ratings to derive securitization risk weights. Barclays said...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will unveil nonbank capital guidelines for servicers by mid-year. Also on the docket: Changes to loan level price adjustments..

Securitization of nonperforming and re-performing mortgages accounted for just over half of total non-agency MBS production in 2014.

Ocwen’s lack of cooperation regarding documents led the agency’s commissioner to issue a subpoena “duces tecum,” which is essentially a court summons.

One servicing advisor raised an interesting scenario Tuesday: Maybe Bill Erbey will swoop in and buy all of Ocwen’s shares and take the whole thing private.

Meanwhile, new revelations about regulatory problems in California are likely to make Ocwen’s disposal of servicing rights problematic.

For short sellers, Ocwen Financial is the gift that keeps on giving.

Despite Cordray's proclamation, loan production fell by 35 percent last year, but all that was tied to refis plunging. Right?...

Patrick Flanagan, Cove’s CEO, was once the president of New Century Mortgage, a now-defunct subprime giant