The seasonal surge in primary market mortgage originations stood in stark contrast to a slump in new residential MBS issuance during the second quarter of 2017. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $455.0 billion of new first-lien loans during the April-June cycle, an 18.2 percent increase from the first three months of the year, according to estimates by Inside Mortgage Finance. But the secondary market generated just $294.7 billion in MBS backed by purchase and refinance loans – a 5.3 percent decline. The result was...[Includes one data table]

Most rated residential MBS in regions affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have limited exposure that will mitigate the losses resulting from the devastation, according to rating services. Residential MBS rated by Moody’s Investors Service, including securities backed by single-family rental properties, have minimal exposure to the storm-affected counties of Texas and Louisiana thereby easing the losses due to reduced property values, rising delinquencies and longer foreclosure and liquidation timelines, the rating agency said. The analysis is...

Redwood Trust is set to issue its first jumbo mortgage-backed security backed predominantly by loans with looser underwriting standards than the super-prime jumbos that have dominated the market. The planned $316.49 million Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2017-CH-1 includes many non-qualified mortgages and other loans that fall outside of Redwood’s traditional Select program. Kroll Bond Rating Agency and Moody’s Investors Service assigned preliminary AAA ratings to the MBS last week ...

Bank and thrift holdings of first-lien mortgages continued to increase in the second quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Banks and thrifts held $1.97 trillion of first-lien mortgages at the end of June. The holdings were up by 1.9 percent from March and up 3.8 percent from a year ago. Trends in portfolio management were somewhat mixed among the top 10 holders of first-lien mortgages. Top-ranked Wells Fargo had ... [Includes one data chart]

Caliber Home Loans is on track to nearly double its originations of non-qualified mortgages this year and will supply the collateral for a forthcoming mortgage-backed security, the largest in the post-crisis era.Caliber plans to originate $1.00 billion of non-QMs this year, up from $539.0 million in 2016, according to DBRS. The nonbank lender has boosted its non-QM production across lending channels, led by wholesale. Caliber had $247.0 million in wholesale non-QM originations ...

The retail channel dominates production among prominent jumbo lenders and gained some market share through two quarters this year, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The retail channel accounted for 77.5 percent of jumbo originations among a group of lenders that had a total of $108.00 billion in jumbo volume in the first half of 2017. The retail share was 76.6 percent over the same period in 2016. The correspondent ... [Includes one data chart]

An affiliate of Shellpoint Partners is preparing to issue another jumbo mortgage-backed security backed largely by mortgages aggregated by Bank of America. The planned Shellpoint Co-Originator Trust 2017-2 is a $323.38 million deal that received preliminary AAA ratings this week. Nearly all of the mortgages were aggregated by BofA through its jumbo whole-loan purchase program and sold to Shellpoint in bulk deals. Loans from 17 lenders will be included in the pool, led by ...

Three non-agency mortgage-backed securities issuers were preparing to issue deals around the time that Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast and Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida. Deals from the issuers include mortgages on properties in the disaster areas, prompting inspections and an emphasis on the representations and warranties included with the MBS. An affiliate of Shellpoint Partners is set to issue a $323.38 million deal on Sept. 29. According to Kroll Bond Rating Agency ...

An affiliate of Blackstone is preparing to issue a rare non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by jumbo reverse mortgages, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A handful of non-agency MBS backed by jumbo reverse mortgages were issued before the financial crisis and none appear to have been issued in recent years. Blackstone’s Podium Mortgage Capital hired Clayton to perform due diligence on 280 jumbo reverse mortgages. The loans were ...

The Milken Institute – a nonpartisan think tank – established a new policy team last week to work on issues involving housing finance reform. Eric Kaplan was named director of Milken’s Housing Finance Program. He was a managing partner at Ranieri Strategies and continues to chair the Structured Finance Industry Group’s RMBS 3.0 effort. Michael Milken and Lewis Ranieri will co-chair a new Housing Advisory Council, which will inform the work of the team led by Kaplan ... [Includes two briefs]