Data regarding subprime mortgages outstanding, delinquencies and loss mitigation activity are getting more difficult to track as the market has essentially been in runoff mode since 2009.Few servicers report on their subprime portfolios, a key delinquency data series was recently discontinued and details on loan modifications are lagging. Some $247.0 billion of subprime mortgages were outstanding as of the end of the first quarter of 2017 ... [Includes one data chart]

Credit Suisse is preparing to issue a $91.18 million non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by seasoned FHA mortgages, according to a presale report by Moody’s Investors Service. CSMC Trust, Series 2017-FHA1 received a preliminary A1 rating. Credit Suisse was a major issuer of post-crisis jumbo MBS but hasn’t issued a jumbo MBS since the fourth quarter of 2015. Fitch Ratings completed a review this week of 63 non-agency MBS backed by post-crisis originations ...

An uptick in mortgage interest rates has reduced rate-term refinance volume but demand from borrowers for cash-out refis and home-equity loans appears to remain relatively strong. “When we look at the landscape for home-equity extraction, we see potential tailwinds from loan-to-value ratio and credit curing combined with slightly less stringent lending standards helping bolster borrower demand,” analysts at Wells Fargo Securities said in a report last week. Borrower LTV ratios have been helped...

The non-agency MBS market is set to receive a jolt as Wells Fargo plans to return to the space. “This year, one of our aspirations is to come back to the market with a couple of deals,” said Franklin Codel, a senior executive vice president of consumer lending at Wells. “We’re taking a look to make sure we can structure those properly … to try to test the market and see what we can do to bring some confidence back to the private-label market.” The official mentioned the plans late last week during an investor event hosted by Wells. Back in 2007, Wells ranked...

President Trump’s tax plan would raise the federal debt, but could benefit residential MBS, consumer ABS and asset-backed commercial paper, depending mostly on the effect on the underlying obligors’ after-tax income, according to a recent research report from Moody’s Investors Service. “The administration’s blueprint proposes a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent, which would also apply to partnerships and other ‘pass-through’ businesses that are currently taxed through their principals’ individual returns,” analysts explained. The White House plan also features...

Nonprime products such as subprime and non-qualified mortgage loans held up better than industry mainstays during the sharp drop in origination volume in the first quarter of this year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Conventional conforming remained the biggest component of the market, accounting for 53.0 percent of first-lien mortgage originations in the first three months of 2017. But the estimated $204.0 billion of such loans produced during the period was down 36.6 percent from the fourth quarter. Government-insured lending was...[Includes two data tables]

Mortgage performance improved in the first quarter of 2017, recovering from a somewhat unexpected increase in delinquencies at the end of 2016. The total delinquency rate in the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index was 4.28 percent as of the end of March, down from 5.05 percent at the end of the previous quarter and improving on the 4.95 percent delinquency rate recorded in March 2016. Among the 32 servicers in the large delinquency index, only two reported...[Includes one data table]

Investors had a strong appetite for new non-agency MBS in the first quarter of 2017, according to issuers. “I am continuously amazed by how quickly we bring a deal out and how quickly the senior bonds gets sold,” Matthew Lambiase, president and CEO of Chimera Investment, said during the real estate investment trust’s earnings call for the first quarter. Chimera issued...

Industry attorneys are warning about a “third wave” of Lehman Brothers Holdings (LBHI) MBS trust claims against mortgage lenders and brokers based on the firm’s latest bankruptcy filing. Attorneys with the firm American Mortgage Law Group said Lehman Brothers for several years has been threatening to file residential MBS trust claims against the mortgage industry to counter trustee claims filed against LBHI in bankruptcy in 2009. The wait is...

Issuance of ABS backed by nonprime personal installment loans is expected to increase, according to S&P Global Ratings. The rating service hasn’t assigned AAA ratings to such ABS, though S&P said it will approach each deal on a case-by-case basis. Between 2013 and 2016, $10.50 billion of ABS backed by branch-based unsecured personal installment loans was issued, according to S&P. The rating service highlighted the sector recently, noting that personal installment loans don’t receive as much attention as marketplace lending, which had $15.10 billion in MBS and ABS issuance between 2013 and 2016. “Branch-based fixed-rate, fixed-term unsecured personal installment loans may not be...