Citadel rebrands as Acra Lending; minimal non-agency MBS downgrades following review by Fitch; non-QM impairments decline; non-agency forbearance down slightly.

The mortgage market was expected to be ready to take on the 43% DTI ratio limit for qualified mortgages by 2021. However, it didn’t work out that way.

ARM originations declined 12.5% in the third quarter. Still, production was up 18.8% during the first nine months of the year.

Facing criticism that the new qualified-mortgage standards could sharply reduce ARM originations, the CFPB said lenders did not provide convincing data during the comment period.

A pilot program launched this year aimed at originating mortgages with balances of less than $100,000 has generated zero loans to this point. Reason: Interest rates on the loans look high.

Non-agency forbearance increases; SFVegas delayed to late July; Maxex offering preferred pricing on jumbos to certain lenders; NewRez non-QM VP opening; PCMA hires VP of direct channel originations.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau late this week issued two final rules for qualified mortgages: One replaces the 43% debt-to-income ratio with a pricing threshold and the other creates a seasoned QM category.

The correspondent channel accounted for 5.7% of jumbo originations among a group of major lenders tracked by this newsletter, down from 10.5% in 2Q20. The retail channel gained all of that market share. (Includes data chart.)

With GSE conforming loan limits increasing by 7.4% in 2021, jumbo lenders could miss out on billions of dollars in originations. But there are some opportunities in areas where home prices are rising quickly.