An expert in the commercial real estate debt market is calling on industry participants to “reset the business to where it used to be” to stop the commercial MBS market from shrinking any further. In a recent blog, Rick Jones, partner and co-chair of Dechert’s finance and real estate practice, noted CRE securitization, or at least the conduit part of the business, continues to dwindle. It has fallen from $800 billion in outstanding principal balance in 2007 to approximately $400 billion currently, with a run rate of about $50 billion annually. The downward trend is...

Wells Fargo fell a notch as PennyMac raced to the top to become the leading VA jumbo securitizer for the first quarter of 2017 – a period in which VA jumbo loan securitization took a sharp nose dive. The volume of VA jumbo loans securitized during the first three months plunged 36.8 percent, compared to the meager 2.0 percent decline seen in the fourth quarter. The drop reflected a 32.9 percent drop in jumbo mortgage production during the first quarter, along with similar large drops in virtually every product segment in the mortgage market, according to an analysis by Inside FHA/VA Lending affiliate Inside Mortgage Finance. The agency jumbo market was down 39.1 percent from the fourth quarter despite the bump up in high-cost loan limits to $636,150, an increase of $10,650 that became effective in January. All components of the agency jumbo market took big hits in the first quarter, including ... [ Charts ]

Securitization rates appeared to rebound strongly in the first quarter of 2017, with an estimated 79.5 percent of primary-market mortgage originations finding their way into a variety of MBS, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. That’s up from a 69.1 percent securitization rate for all of 2016 and, if it keeps up for the rest of 2017, it would be the highest mark since 2013. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the rate was 72.7 percent. Both new MBS production and primary-market originations were...[Includes one data table]

Investors in nonprime MBS may be more vulnerable to fraudulent or defective mortgages compared to prime transactions because of deficiencies or inadequacies in the related representation-and-warranties frameworks, according to a new report from analysts at Moody’s Investors Service. “The collateral backing these transactions is riskier than the loans in post-crisis prime jumbo RMBS, which also generally use stronger frameworks,” the report said. For starters, “Transactions in the re-emerging non-prime RMBS sector are...

Marketplace lender Social Finance – a mortgage originator with a track record in securitizing consumer and student loans – has filed for a state bank charter in Utah and is also pondering selling stock to the public. For now, the privately held technology-centric firm isn’t saying much about its plans, including the initial public offering. One source familiar with the company’s mortgage operation said SoFi recently hired one executive away from a larger player by dangling the IPO and stock options. To date, there has been...

Bank and thrift holdings of first-lien mortgages took a relatively rare decline in the first quarter of 2017 as jumbo production stalled during the period, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Banks and thrifts held a total of $1.93 trillion of first-lien residential mortgages in portfolio as of the end of March, down 0.1 percent from December 2016. The holdings have increased relatively steadily in recent years ... [Includes one data chart]

Affiliates of American International Group are set to issue their first jumbo mortgage-backed security, according to presale reports released this week. AIG’s residential mortgage lending group has been acquiring jumbos on a correspondent basis since 2013, amassing more than $4.50 billion in holdings. The planned CSMC 2017-HL1 Trust is a $511.98 million securitization of loans acquired from a variety of lenders. The MBS will be issued on a Credit Suisse shelf ...

The nonprime mortgage-backed security issued by Deephaven Mortgage earlier this month was largely similar to a deal the firm issued in April, save for a greater emphasis on mortgages underwritten with less than full documentation. So-called alternative documentation mortgages accounted for 36.5 percent of the $250.13 million MBS Deephaven issued this month, up from a 17.7 percent share of its $221.14 million issuance in April. Non-agency lenders underwriting mortgages ...

Representations and warranties on new nonprime mortgage-backed securities often include weaknesses that limit their ability to protect investors against fraudulent or defective loans, according to an analysis by Moody’s Investors Service. However, the rating service said current practices and dynamics in the nonprime MBS market help to mitigate the risks from weak reps and warranties. Moody’s hasn’t placed ratings on nonprime MBS backed by ... [Includes four briefs]

U.S. mortgage borrowers were somewhat less eager to tap the equity they have in their homes during the first quarter, but they have plenty of dry powder in a market that’s expected to continue tilting away from refinance lending. Originations of home-equity lines of credit and closed-end second mortgages fell 5.0 percent during the first quarter to an estimated $46.0 billion, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. Compared to the sharp 33.6 percent drop in first-lien production, the home-equity sector virtually glowed. The supply of home-equity loans outstanding fell...[Includes three data tables]