New lenders that specialize in loans that don’t meet the government’s qualified-mortgage standards continue to draw up blueprints and raise capital – or at least try to – but very few of them are banking on securitization as a take-out strategy. However, all that may change with the launch of LendSure Financial Services, a San Diego startup headed by a handful of veterans from the subprime industry of yesteryear, including Jim Konrath, Stu Marvin and Joe Lydon. According to one non-agency investor briefed on LendSure’s plans, securitization is...

While jumbo MBS issued in recent years have performed exceptionally well, some senior-support bonds on new jumbo MBS have credit risks similar to what was experienced during the financial crisis, according to analysts at Andrew Davidson & Co. In a recent analysis, Richard Ellson and Allison Ying raised concerns about the super-senior structures that have become common on jumbo MBS in recent years. They noted that when Redwood Trust started working to revive jumbo MBS issuance in 2010, the issuer used a much simpler structure. However, in the past few years, Redwood and many other issuers have increasingly used...

Hatteras Financial has started to acquire jumbo adjustable-rate mortgages that offer more attractive returns than agency mortgages. Officials at the real estate investment trust note that while Hatteras started operations in 2007, the REIT did not start investing in individual loans until December. “I’m not sure that we know 100 percent what the extent of the opportunity is going to be,” Michael Hough, Hatteras’ chairman and CEO, said during a recent call with investors. “It is something ...

Five Oaks Investment this week issued its first jumbo mortgage-backed security, although the real estate investment trust has contributed to jumbo MBS issued by others. The $267.19 million Oaks Mortgage Trust Series 2015-1 received largely favorable reviews from the rating services, though Five Oaks’ lack of a track record in the jumbo MBS market helped prompt credit enhancement of 8.45 percent on the senior tranche. Both Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service said they found that ...

First Republic Bank maintained its lead as the top contributor to jumbo mortgage-backed securities issued in the first quarter of 2015, according to a ranking by Inside Nonconforming Markets. First Republic was identified as contributing $1.43 billion to jumbo MBS issued during the quarter, accounting for 31.0 percent of all jumbo MBS activity. The bank was also the top jumbo MBS contributor for all of 2014, with $1.46 billion in identified contributions ... [Includes one data chart]

Credit Suisse and Redwood Trust, the two dominant jumbo mortgage-backed securities issuers since 2010, continue to differ in terms of jumbo MBS offerings. While their latest deals include a number of similarities involving credit characteristics, the Redwood deal includes a relatively high share of non-qualified mortgages. The $356.45 million Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2015-2 received AAA ratings with credit enhancement of 5.00 percent on the senior tranche. That’s the lowest ...

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase account for the vast majority of bank holdings of negative amortization mortgages, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Bank exposure to negative amortization mortgages continues to dwindle as originations of such loans largely stopped after the financial crisis. Large chunks of the holdings at Wells and Chase are due to acquisitions of Wachovia and Washington Mutual, respectively ... [Includes one data chart]

Walter Investment Management’s Green Tree Servicing agreed to pay $48 million for consumer redress and a $15 million civil money penalty due to a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission. The federal regulators alleged that Green Tree failed to honor modifications for loans transferred from other servicers, among other issues. The regulators said a large number of loans Green Tree acquired from ... [Includes two briefs]

FHA jumbo loan production dropped significantly in 2014, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. The volume of jumbo loans insured by the FHA – loan amounts exceeding $417,000 up to the national ceiling of $625,500 – fell 41.9 percent from the prior year, and 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 from the previous quarter. FHA jumbo production for 2014 totaled $10.5 billion, with purchase loans accounting for nearly 80 percent of volume and fixed-rate loans comprising 87.1 percent of jumbos originated last year. Seventy-two percent of lenders saw their jumbo volume decline, including Provident Savings Bank, which suffered the largest year-over-year drop (84.9 percent). An analysis of FHA endorsements by loan amount show that loans above $417,000 up to $499,000 accounted for 2.12 percent of loans endorsed in the first quarter. Additionally, loans from $500,000 to ... [1 chart]

The FHA Single-Family Policy Handbook’s effective date has been changed from June 15 to Sept. 14, 2015, the agency has announced. The affected sections include the following: Doing Business with FHA – Lenders and Mortgagees; Doing Business with FHA – Other Participants – Appraiser; and Quality Control, Oversight and Compliance. The section for Origination through Post Closing/Endorsement (OTPC/E) becomes effective for FHA case numbers assigned on or after Sept. 14. All applicable existing single-family handbooks, mortgagee letters and policy documents continue to apply until the OTPC/E section becomes effective, the agency said. A number of competing initiatives prompted the change of effective date. The FHA expects lenders to be fully compliant by Sept. 14. The FHA will continue to issue mortgagee letters periodically to ...