There’s no consensus among industry participants on how the CFPB should address the “patch” for qualified mortgages. However, lenders generally agree that Appendix Q of the ATR rule needs a major overhaul.

The debate around the qualified mortgage “patch” has shifted to whether the non-agency market can handle the volume that currently is delivered to the GSEs.

Denial rates on jumbo mortgages varied in 2018. Denials of applications for purchase mortgages declined while those for refis increased. Denial rates also differed widely among banks and nonbanks. (Includes one data chart.)

Non-QM MBS from affiliates of Angelo Gordon and Caliber Home Loans are in the works along with a deal backed by investment-property mortgages from JPMorgan Chase.

Production of interest-only mortgages by a select group of lenders increased by more than 65% in the second quarter. Data from HMDA provides new insight on the characteristics of IO borrowers. (Includes data chart.)

The Treasury report on housing-finance reform included a number of suggestions on how federal regulators could promote a level playing field between the GSEs and non-agency players.

In comments on ways to address the end of the qualified mortgage patch, the Treasury suggested using a bright-line test while Redwood cautioned against using a metric based on the interest rate of a mortgage.

Servicing portfolios stocked with jumbo mortgages continued to steadily increase in the second quarter. However, portfolio growth at the top two servicers hasn’t kept pace with the market overall.