Purchases of mortgage-backed securities via the Public-Private Investment Program have resulted in returns of about 27.0 percent for taxpayers, according to figures reported by the Treasury Department. However, the impressive profit is based on return on equity alone, excluding loans made to... [Includes one graph and one data chart]

While working to establish a jumbo whole loan conduit, PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust has been able to turn profits by investing in distressed mortgages. The real-estate investment trust avoided purchases of mortgage-backed securities during the first quarter of 2011 and increased its profits due to...

The trustee for bankrupt former jumbo lender Thornburg Mortgage filed a number of lawsuits last week claiming that the lender’s warehouse lenders made “unjustified” margin calls on Thornburg, forcing the lender into bankruptcy. In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore, Joel Sher, the trustee of what is now known as...

The House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises this week approved a mark-up of H.R. 940, “the U.S. Covered Bond Act of 2011.” The mark-up was approved by a voice vote, including two amendments, and is scheduled to receive consideration by the...

After the subprime mortgage crisis, renting is looking more appealing than ever and reshaping the outlook for residential mortgage lending. During a recent conference hosted by the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC, many panelists agreed that single-family housing is becoming less popular, and more people are looking to...

Mortgage origination activity dropped sharply in early 2011 and momentum is pointing toward further declines as the housing market limps into a new buying season. Mortgage lenders generated an estimated $325.0 billion in single-family originations during the first three months of the year, a decline of... [Includes two data charts]

With the flow of new jumbo mortgage securitizations still running at a trickle, the non-agency MBS market remains dominated by resecuritization deals that face new regulatory hurdles ahead. New issuance of non-agency MBS dropped...[Includes four data charts]

Risk-retention requirements proposed by federal regulators last week strongly favor the government-sponsored enterprises over non-agency securitization, according to industry analysts. The pristine mortgages in Redwood Trust’s recent jumbo securitization would not completely meet the standards and the vast majority of... [Includes one graph]

Real-estate investment trusts that focus on the nonconforming market are positioned to capitalize on risk-retention requirements proposed last week by federal regulators. But banks with large balance sheets may be less able to access non-agency securitization, according to industry analysts. The qualified residential mortgage proposal is likely to...