With credit standards loosening somewhat, some commercial banks are listening to pitches from “private-money” lenders that are searching for warehouse lines, but so far it’s been a case of more smoke than fire. During the subprime meltdown of 2007, banks and Wall Street firms exited the nonprime warehouse sector and have yet to return. According to warehouse consultant Michele Perrin, several banks are willing to make warehouse lines on private-money mortgages, but only up to $5 million per deal ...

From the start of the Home Affordable Modification Program through the end of 2012, mortgages serviced for the government-sponsored enterprises accounted for the largest share of HAMP Activity. However, beginning this year, mortgages in non-agency mortgage-backed securities and loans in portfolio have overtaken GSE mortgages in terms of total HAMP activity. As of the end of the second quarter of 2013, non-agency mortgages accounted for 51.2 percent of the 1.21 million ... [Includes one data chart]

Servicers last week rejected offers from Richmond, CA to purchase 624 mortgages located in the city. Richmond now plans to seize the mortgages via eminent domain but has yet to make the move and faces significant opposition from mortgage industry participants. The five servicers participating in the $25 billion national servicing settlement have provided borrowers with $51.33 billion in gross relief through the end of the second quarter of 2013, according to the settlement’s monitor ... [Includes five briefs]

It was the biggest volume of new lending above the conforming loan limit since the second quarter of 2007 – before “emergency” conforming loan limits were authorized by Congress.

S&P has been the top non-agency MBS rating agency over the years but DBRS captured the title in 2012 with 55 percent of rated transactions, according to Inside MBS & ABS.

With the retreat of banks from the non-prime lending space, Springleaf says it is strategically positioned to grow in the years ahead.

Okay, so banking regulators have blown multiple Dodd-Frank rule making deadlines. But for now the QM rule is on track. Right?

“As expected, we don’t believe any mortgages have been sold out of trusts to the city of Richmond,” said Tom Deutsch, executive director of the American Securitization Forum.

PHH Mortgage may unload billions of dollars in housing receivables, while remaining as the subservicer on the underlying loans.

As of the midway point in 2013, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were only slightly ahead of the pace they will need to maintain this year to reach portfolio-shrinkage targets set by their regulators, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. Under the revised terms of their bailout agreements, the two government-sponsored enterprises are required to reduce their retained portfolios by 15.0 percent by the end of this year. Through the first six months of 2013, the GSEs had shrunk their mortgage portfolios by 8.7 percent. But the Federal Housing Finance Agency has also directed...[Includes one data chart]