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 ...

Bank and thrift portfolio holdings of first-lien mortgages increased in 2014, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of call reports. Retention of new jumbo mortgages and even some conforming loans helped outpace portfolio runoff. Banks and thrifts held a total of $1.77 trillion in first-lien mortgages at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014. The holdings increased by 0.3 percent compared with the previous quarter and were up ... [Includes one data chart]

WinWater Home Mortgage and Two Harbors Investment are preparing to issue separate jumbo mortgage-backed securities, according to presale reports. WinWater’s deal is set to include some non-qualified mortgages while Two Harbors’ jumbo MBS sticks with the type of mortgages that have dominated jumbo MBS issued in recent years. The $287.74 million WinWater Mortgage Loan Trust 2015-3 is set to receive AAA ratings with credit enhancement of ...

A moratorium of real estate investment trusts gaining membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank system ended recently when the captive insurer of Five Oaks Investment was approved as a member of the FHLBank of Indianapolis. The REIT revealed this week that Five Oaks Insurance gained FHLBank membership on Feb. 24. “FOI is currently negotiating agreements for advances with the FHLBank and, although no assurance can be given, FOI anticipates ...

The two main types of representation-and-warranty frameworks used in jumbo mortgage-backed securities can both effectively protect investors, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Each framework presents different risks, and industry participants suggest that other aspects of deals carry more importance for investors. Jumbo MBS issued in recent years have largely included either an open-ended rep-and-warrant framework or a prescriptive framework ...