A total of $47.13 billion of new non-mortgage ABS were issued during the first quarter of 2013, a solid 31.2 percent gain from the end of last year, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking of issuers and underwriters. The fast start for 2013 ABS issuance was up 15.1 percent from the first three months of last year, although it came up short of three of the strongest quarters since the financial market meltdown in late 2008, including the second quarter of 2012. If new issuance can maintain its current pace for the rest of the year, 2013 could see the strongest ABS production volume since before the crash. The driver so far has been...[Includes two data charts]

Primary market originators and due diligence providers say the elusive market in private placement MBS deals has been gaining strength this year. “We’re seeing three to five private deals a month,” said Jeff Taylor, managing partner of Digital Risk, a New York-based risk management and due diligence firm. As for the underlying product, it’s across the board, he added. “It can be jumbo, nonperforming, and re-performing.” But the deals are also much smaller than the rapidly growing public MBS deals. Digital Risk, which conducts due diligence reviews on the underlying collateral, said...

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase continue to post strong residential finance profits, but there is a growing worry that the "mortgage party" may be drawing to a close.

Citadel Loan Servicing Corp. of Irvine, a new subprime lender launched by industry veteran Dan Perl, funded its first loan last week, and is getting a barrage of telephone calls from potential borrowers to its headquarters in Southern California. “We’re getting 25 to 30 inquiries a day,” Perl told Inside Mortgage Trends. The firm is in the process of evaluating between $1.5 million and $2 million in residential loans. The first mortgage it funded was for $315,000 on a home in Orange County, CA. The ...

Just how hot is the jumbo MBS market? Consider this: Some $3.95 billion in non-agency jumbo MBS was issued in the first quarter, compared with $3.46 billion in issuance in all of last year.

The National Credit Union Administration keeps racking up the "wins" in its drive to recover losses on faulty MBS sales.

Steve Stein, national sales director, has departed Green Tree Servicing, but the company isn't returning telephone calls and emails about the matter.

The non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security market expanded significantly in the first quarter of 2013, with more new issuance than was produced in all of last year, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. Issuance showed no signs of slowing down entering the second quarter, led by Redwood Trust. Some $3.95 billion in non-agency jumbo MBS was issued in the first quarter, compared with $3.46 billion in issuance in all of last year. The last time non-agency ... [Includes one data chart]

Moody’s Investors Service said it would not have given its highest rating to the jumbo mortgage-backed security issued last week by JPMorgan Chase because of concerns about the deal’s representation and warranty framework and the lack of risk retention by Chase. DBRS, Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency gave JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2013-1 AAA ratings with credit enhancement of 7.40 percent on the top-rated tranche. The rating services said the credit enhancement on the deal was ...

With banks starting to issue jumbo mortgage-backed securities instead of holding originations in portfolio, the sector has expanded beyond the two nonbanks that propped up non-agency jumbo MBS issuance since 2010. The activity shows favorable economics for non-agency MBS, including tighter spreads on interest rates between conforming mortgages and non-agency jumbos. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage was 3.596 percent this week, according to Inside Mortgage Finance ...