The Structured Finance Industry Group published the fourth edition of its “RMBS 3.0 Green Papers” this week. The trade group said it will release a fifth edition of the Green Papers in the coming weeks. The latest papers address various issues in the non-agency mortgage-backed security market, including representations and warranties, the concept of a deal agent and data disclosure. Moody’s Investors Service this month withdrew its assessment of ... [Includes two briefs]

Most of the lift in third-quarter mortgage originations came from the tail end of the refinance boom, especially in the agency market, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. The government-insured market saw a hefty 21.4 percent jump in mortgage originations from the second to the third quarter as the sector reached an estimated $159.0 billion and accounted for 27.4 percent of total first-lien production. It was the second consecutive record quarter for FHA, VA and Department of Agriculture rural-housing production. The conventional-conforming segment was not far behind...[Includes two data tables]

And there’s a school of thought that says rates have risen too quickly and by too much...

KBRA said the borrowers have strong credit profiles, significant home equity, and a weighted-average credit score of 760.

Two former officials from WinWater joined Window Rock and will help shape the conduit, which will be known as Ventana Loan Services.

An executive at Angel Oak Capital, Atlanta, parent of Angel Oak Home Loans, confirmed that his firm is seeking a rating and would like to issue a rated non-QM MBS someday…

The serious delinquency rate on Fannie’s purchased/guaranteed Alt A mortgages was 5.27 percent at Sept. 30, down from 6.75 percent the year before.

As the new breed of subprime lenders continues to increase originations, these firms are now actively pondering whether they should approach the rating agencies about getting their firms rated. Dan Perl, founder and CEO of nonprime/non-QM lender Citadel Servicing, Irvine, CA, said his firm has approached Fitch Ratings and hopes to get rated as both a servicer and originator. Perl believes some of his competitors are going down the same path as well. He told...

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay an undisclosed settlement amount to ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. to resolve allegations of fraud related to insurance on a collateralized debt obligation backed by subprime mortgages. Details of the Abacus CDO settlement were not disclosed, although ACA initially sought $120 million in damages. First filed in 2011, ACA’s lawsuit accused Goldman Sachs and hedge fund Paulson & Co. of fraudulently persuading it to guarantee payments on the CDO prior to the financial crisis. ACA alleged...

In case you didn’t know it, the Irvine, CA-based Citadel now services roughly $650 million in nonprime loans. Angel Oak and Deephaven use subservicers…