Weichert Financial/Mortgage Access Corp., an agency/jumbo mortgage lender in 43 states, reached a settlement with the banking regulators of 10 states after a multi-state examination found numerous compliance and internal control deficiencies, including the use of an “interstate lending desk” to facilitate the origination or completion of mortgage applications by originators that were not licensed in the appropriate jurisdictions. “The multi-state mortgage examination program was initiated to enhance consumer protection, foster a culture of compliance within the industry, and hold...

The future size and form of the non-agency market continue to be debated even as a number of market participants take significant steps toward reviving issuance of non-agency mortgage-backed securities. One thing is certain: Redwood Trust is no longer alone in its efforts to revive the non-agency market.Goldman Sachs has reportedly acquired more than $1.0 billion in jumbo mortgages via the conduit it established last year. The investment bank is reportedly paying a premium for the loans and plans to issue a non-agency MBS this year. This week, Shellpoint Partners, a specialty finance company, acquired...

Risk-retention rules proposed by federal regulators could limit a popular form of non-prime risk retention, perhaps unintentionally. The treatment of excess spread on non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed securities is also a concern. Tom Deutsch, executive director of the American Securitization Forum, warned that excess spread retained by a deal’s sponsor would not count as risk retention under the qualified residential mortgage proposed rule. In securitizations of non-prime loans, the excess spread typically would be treated as the...

Jumbo mortgages accounted for 7.7 percent of new loan originations in the first quarter of 2011, the highest share for the sector since 2008. A number of correspondent lenders have also expanded their jumbo programs in 2011. Some $25.0 billion in non-agency jumbos were originated in the first quarter of 2011, according to estimates by affiliated publication Inside Mortgage Finance. That was down 16.7 percent from the previous quarter, while overall originations declined by 35.0 percent during the period. The relative strength of the jumbo market increased...[Includes one data chart]

The legacy of toxic subprime and Alt A MBS from Countrywide Financial continued to spread last week, with a California appeals court deciding to allow a class action involving a number of pension funds and other institutional investors against the lender to proceed. The plaintiffs allege that Countrywide and a number of its subsidiaries, officers and U.S. investment banks violated the Securities Act of 1933 by making materially false and misleading statements in over 450 prospectus supplements relating to the issuance of more than $300 billion in subprime and Alt A securities. Specifically, plaintiffs allege the defendants misrepresented the quality of...

Conventional conforming mortgage production took the heaviest hit in new lending during the first quarter as all four corners of the single-family originations market recorded sharp declines, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Originations of conventional mortgages that meet conforming loan limits sank 40.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010, hitting an estimated $213.0 billion. The conventional conforming market still had the biggest role in the market, accounting for 65.5 percent of new originations, but a sharp drop in refinance activity hit the sector hard. Government-insured lending was also... [Includes two data charts]

Redwood Trust plans to issue two more jumbo mortgage-backed securities this year, the real-estate investment trust announced this month. Martin Hughes, president and CEO of the firm, said officials hope to issue a total of $800 million to $1.0 billion in jumbo MBS in 2011, including the $290.0 million security issued earlier this year. Officials at the REIT said they hope to issue their next jumbo security in the third quarter. At the end of April, Redwood had $87.0 million in loans purchased and held on balance sheet for future securitization along with a $200.0 million pipeline. Redwood is seeing strong demand from correspondent lenders looking to...

Two Harbors Investment Corp. announced this week that it plans to issue a $250.0 million jumbo non-agency mortgage-backed security this year. "We believe we can create mortgage credit investments at attractive yields resulting from high-quality loan origination and securitization while further extending the runway for the non-agency allocation in our portfolio," said Thomas Siering, president and CEO of Two Harbors, a real estate investment trust. He said Two Harbors took its first step toward setting up a securitization issuance program by partnering with Barclays Bank this week to close on a $100 million mortgage loan warehouse facility, subject to... [Includes one graph]

Non-prime mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to gradually melt away in early 2011, although performance improved somewhat on Alt A mortgages. Combined, Fannie and Freddie had $447.33 billion in non-prime holdings at the end of the first quarter, down 17.3 percent from the same period in 2010, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Alt A mortgages accounted for 69.9 percent of the government-sponsored enterprises' exposure to non-prime loans. New business at the GSEs continued to meet high standards. The weighted-average loan-to-value ratio on mortgages guaranteed by... [Includes one data chart]