Issuance of residential MBS from foreign countries aimed at investors in the U.S. dwindled in 2013 after a few years when it surpassed new issuance of domestic jumbo deals. Activity in the market for U.S. dollar-denominated foreign MBS has picked up somewhat this year due to issuance out of Australia. Some $1.63 billion in U.S. dollar-denominated foreign residential MBS was issued in 2013, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a significant decline from the $10.70 billion in such issuance in 2012. The market for foreign residential MBS aimed at U.S. investors has been strong since the end of 2009, with $21.10 billion in such issuance in 2010 and $32.68 billion in issuance in 2011. After the financial crisis, issuance of U.S. dollar-denominated foreign MBS outpaced...

Major market indicators suggest the subprime auto ABS sector has finally returned to normal after the financial crisis, and prospects are good for a healthy market in 2014, according to research professionals at Wells Fargo Securities. “Subprime auto ABS has fully recovered from the recession, in our view,” John McElravey, head of consumer ABS research for the firm, and Bee Sim Koh, an associate in the unit, said in a recent market update. For example, new-issue volume in the sector rose...

Fitch said OneWest found a new buyer for 12,000 mortgages in 39 non-agency MBS that didn’t receive consents as part of the planned transfer to Ocwen.

The MBA said applications for purchase-mortgages with high loan balances have increased in recent months while applications for lower-balance mortgages has declined…

Bad news for Nationstar and Ocwen? S&P said downgrades on servicer-advance ABS are possible because the analysis that accompanied ratings on certain deals didn’t consider subordinated interest amounts as part of the ratable promise.

In 2013, nine firms issued jumbo MBS. In the past two quarters, the only issuers of jumbo MBS were Credit Suisse, JPMorgan Chase and Redwood Trust.

The EXPIRE Act also includes a provision to extend the mortgage insurance premium tax deduction. In a letter supporting the tax extensions to the committee, the Mortgage Bankers Association estimated that for a $200,000 home, homeowners would be able to deduct between $600 and $1,000 from their taxes.

The jumbo mortgage-backed security market has yet to recover from the spike in interest rates seen nearly a year ago. Investor demand for the securities remains weak, even with the pristine performance of jumbo MBS issued since 2010. Four deals were priced in the first quarter of 2014 for a total of $1.29 billion in issuance, according to Inside Nonconforming Markets. While that was a 56.0 percent increase in issuance compared with ... [Includes two data charts]

Demand from borrowers for loans that aren’t “qualified mortgages” has prompted many banks to continue to offer non-QMs such as interest-only mortgages or non-agency mortgages with debt-to-income ratios above 43 percent. “We’ve pretty much made the decision that the risk of there being any kind of a kickback from an individual – if we underwrite that thing and document ourselves and do the things we need to do – is a risk worth taking,” said Derek Williams ...

Ethos Lending was looking for an investment from Fenway Summer and ended up merging with Fenway Summer’s mortgage unit. The combined operation plans to start originating agency mortgages in the second quarter of this year and offer prime non-qualified mortgages via the wholesale channel by the end of 2014. Raj Date, the founder of Fenway Summer and the former deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will serve as chairman of ...