With GSE loan limits in high-cost areas nearing $1 million in 2022, Redwood Trust called on the FHFA to use its powers to place limits on the GSEs’ acquisitions of high-balance mortgages.

QM revisions not on CFPB’s agenda; regulators leave risk-retention standards as is; forbearance on non-agency loans increase; non-agency MBS issuance update; Deephaven allowing remote appraisals for non-QMs.

Expanded-credit mortgages gained market share as total first-lien originations declined in the third quarter. Still, the sector accounted for only 1.1% of the total origination pie. (Includes data chart.)

GSE loan limits will increase by 18.1% in 2022, with a threshold of nearly $1.0 million in high-cost areas, prompting the FHFA to evaluate the relationship between home price appreciation and loan limits.

The Structured Finance Association has developed a framework due diligence providers can use to help gauge QM compliance. A large chunk of the document focuses on verification of a borrower’s employment.

The amount of nonprime servicing handled by a group of 15 firms was essentially flat between the end of June and the end of September. Three of the top five firms in the sector saw their portfolios shrink. (Includes data chart.)

With interest in non-fungible tokens booming this year, LoanSnap saw an opportunity to mint NFTs linked to mortgages.

Non-agency MBS brought to the market in the past two weeks were primarily stocked with jumbo mortgages and GSE-eligible loans for investment properties. There were also a few expanded-credit deals.

Angel Oak is the latest expanded-credit lender to offer mortgages based on an individual tax identification number to individuals not eligible to obtain a Social Security number.

UWM is offering its first non-QM product in years; the impairment rate on securitized non-QMs declined somewhat in October.