New Residential, Redwood and Two Harbors sold non-agency MBS holdings as REITs were hit with a surge of margin calls from their lenders. Efforts by the federal government to prop up the mortgage market haven’t done much for non-agency players.

Non-agency loans account for about 30% of all residential mortgages outstanding and, unlike with servicing for the GSEs or government-insured mortgages, there’s no standardization in how servicers will respond to borrowers facing financial difficulties tied to the coronavirus.

Non-QM MBS forum delayed; Patch rebrands as Noah and continues to offer home-equity sharing product; originations up and income down at fix-and-flip lender Sachem Capital in 2019; Anchor Loans taps former Radian executive as COO; Velocity late filing annual report due to coronavirus.

As the financial impact of the coronavirus spreads, some lenders have suspended non-QM originations and others have repriced products.

After a surge in February, the issuance of non-agency MBS has all but ground to a halt due to financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus.

Nearly all the firms in a group of 30 servicers increased their jumbo portfolio in 2019. Chase and Truist were the only ones to see a decrease. (Includes data chart.)

More trouble for Sterling: DOJ is now investigating the bank’s non-qualified-mortgage origination practices.

A focus on refis of agency loans prompted a decline in non-QM lending at Impac in 2019. The lender will focus on non-QMs (again) this year.

Figure packaged a $149 million ABS backed by home-equity lines of credit that were originated and securitized using blockchain technology.

Toorak prices securitization backed by bridge loans; Redwood extends a warehouse line; Velocity provides a financial update; sales of luxury homes rose in 4Q19; PCMA launches product for investment properties.