In what could quickly become a “credit negative” for the subprime auto ABS sector, a top official from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicated last week that the agency is increasingly concerned about the sector and will crack down on practices deemed too risky for consumers. CFPB Deputy Director Steven Antonakes, in a speech before the Consumer Bankers Association, identified a loosening of credit in the subprime auto loan market as one of the emerging risks the bureau is paying close attention to. “From our standpoint, it is...

Limited refinancing opportunities for borrowers already at the lowest end of the interest rate spectrum continue to drive down voluntary prepayments on re-performing loans, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service. “We estimate that only 15 percent of all re-performing subprime loans and 12 percent of all re-performing Alt A loans could have potential refinancing options,” said Moody’s. The borrowers received...

JPMorgan Mortgage Acquisition Corp. is an “above average” aggregator of jumbo mortgages, according to a rating issued last week by Moody’s Investors Service. “JPMMAC’s strengths include the financial strength of its parent company and extensive controls which ensure consistent production quality,” the rating service said. Chase’s jumbo conduit operation buys closed loans from approved sellers and doesn’t originate mortgages. Of the approximately 9,800 jumbos ...

Home-equity loan holdings by banks and thrifts have largely held steady in terms of performance while declining slightly in balance during the past year, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Bank Mortgage Database. Banks and thrifts held $982.99 billion in home-equity lines of credit, HELOC commitments and closed-end second liens as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2014. The holdings declined by 0.8 percent compared with the previous quarter ... [Includes one data chart]

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two cases that could have significant ramifications for how second liens are handled when a borrower has negative equity. Both of the cases involve Bank of America arguing on behalf of second-lien lenders and holders. “The Supreme Court’s resolution of the BofA v. Caulkett and BofA v. Toledo-Cardona will either ratify the trend of other circuits, which would benefit junior lenders, or overturn it, which would favor homeowners and first-lien mortgagees,” according to lawyers at ...

Home-equity lending gained modest momentum during the fourth quarter of 2014, although the outstanding supply of second-lien mortgage debt continued its seven-year decline. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $21 billion of home-equity loans, including home-equity lines of credit and closed-end second mortgages, during the fourth quarter. That was up 5.0 percent from the third quarter and brought full-year production ... [Includes one data chart]

Loan Modification Trial Payment Plans for Forward Mortgages. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced requirements for trial plan duration, required signatures, and reporting for trial payment-plan agreements, and the conditions under which FHA deems a TPP to have failed.Lenders must implement the requirements in Mortgagee Letter 2015-07 for all TPPs offered to borrowers on or after June 1, 2015. FHA Publishes Additional Sections of HUD Single-Family Policy Handbook. The FHA has published additional sections for the SF Handbook, including the following: Doing Business with FHA – Lenders and Mortgagees Doing Business with FHA – Other participants in FHA Transactions – Appraisers; Quality Control, Oversight and Compliance – Lenders and Mortgagees; Quality Control Oversight, and Compliance – Other Participants in FHA Transactions – Appraisers ...

Returns on agency MBS are “uninspiring,” according to Thomas Siering, president and CEO of Two Harbors Investment, which has worked to diversify its assets, including putting an emphasis on jumbo conduit activities and commercial MBS. “We have a diversified business model and our operating platform obviates the need to jack up leverage to generate some return in the agency space because we think we can get attractive returns in ...

Despite the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s proposed rule that would block real estate investment trusts from joining a Federal Home Loan Bank through captive insurance units, the Indianapolis FHLBank approved a new REIT member. An insurance subsidiary of Five Oaks Investment Corp. was admitted on Feb. 24, according to the REIT’s 2014 annual report released this week. A handful of other REITs, including Two Harbors, Redwood Trust and Invesco ...

The non-agency mortgage business looks attractive to many companies, but it is a difficult market to get into, according to experts speaking at a mortgage servicing conference sponsored by Information Management Network this week in New York. Non-agency originations outside of portfolio jumbos have been limited due to certain allowances for the government-sponsored enterprises and the lack of demand for mortgage-backed securities, among other issues ...