The nonprime mortgages held in portfolio by the government-sponsored enterprises continued to decline in 2017, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. And while the GSEs sold vintage non-agency mortgage-backed securities during the year, pre-crisis Alt A mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are largely running off instead of being sold. Fannie and Freddie had a total of $108.23 billion in nonprime mortgage holdings ... [Includes one data chart]
S&P Global Ratings released a revised methodology and assumptions this week for non-agency mortgage-backed securities issued in 2009 and later. The revision included slightly more favorable treatment of mortgages to multiple borrowers and recalibrated loss severity assumptions, including an over/undervaluation framework that incorporates property values in markets compared with price-to-income ratios. New Penn Financial loosened ... [Includes two briefs]
MBS backed by expanded-credit loans increased by more than 400 percent last year, with an even better year anticipated in 2018. And although the growth in terms of dollar volume wasn’t huge, due diligence firms are beginning to feel bullish about their prospects.
New jumbo MBS from Redwood Trust are coming fast and furious after a lull in the fourth quarter of 2017. The real estate investment trust has multiple execution options for the jumbos it aggregates and MBS issuance now looks to be providing better returns than whole-loan sales.