MBS backed by expanded-credit loans increased by more than 400 percent last year, with an even better year anticipated in 2018. And although the growth in terms of dollar volume wasn’t huge, due diligence firms are beginning to feel bullish about their prospects.

New jumbo MBS from Redwood Trust are coming fast and furious after a lull in the fourth quarter of 2017. The real estate investment trust has multiple execution options for the jumbos it aggregates and MBS issuance now looks to be providing better returns than whole-loan sales.

Originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages declined by 17.8 percent on an annual basis in 2017, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The sector lost market share as total mortgage originations declined by 12.3 percent during that span. Jumbo originations were down among most of the top 10 lenders, including banks and nonbanks, with many reporting weaker consumer demand, particularly as refinances became ... [Includes one data chart]

The jumbo mortgage-backed security market received a boost this week as a new issuer stepped into the ring. Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America is preparing to issue a deal this month, according to presale reports. TIAA, a multi-faceted enterprise with more than $1 trillion in managed assets, acquired EverBank in 2017 and rebranded the operations as TIAA, FSB. The bank is set to issue a $381.54 million jumbo MBS using EverBank’s MBS shelf registration ...

The delinquency rate on non-qualified mortgages in mortgage-backed securities remains low, as issuers are largely avoiding risk-layering. As of the end of 2017, the average current-to-delinquent roll rate for non-QMs in MBS seasoned for one year was 0.4 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Only three non-QM loans tracked by CoreLogic have liquidated so far, and none realized a loss. Non-QM MBS have thicker credit enhancement than ... [Includes one data chart]

A new expanded-prime mortgage-backed security from Redwood Trust is nearly 40.0 percent larger than the prior deal from the real estate investment trust. Redwood is set to issue the $444.29 million Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2018-CH-1, following a similar $320.30 million deal in November and a $307.64 million deal in September, the first from Redwood to focus on loans from the firm’s Choice program. Choice mortgages have slightly wider underwriting standards than ...

Flagstar Bank is set to issue its third jumbo mortgage-backed security in as many quarters, according to presale reports published this week. The bank plans to issue a $487.66 million deal, which follows a $576.44 million deal from October and a $443.79 million issuance in July. Underwriting characteristics across the three MBS are largely similar. The new issuance includes mortgages with an average credit score of 761, an average combined loan-to-value ratio of 67.4 percent and ...

PennyMac Financial will resume originating jumbo mortgages in the correspondent channel this year, the lender announced this week. And jumbos will be offered in the broker channel operations recently launched by PennyMac. The House approved a bill this week that would shrink the potential market for non-qualified mortgages. H.R. 1153, the Mortgage Choice Act, was approved on a 280-131 vote with some bipartisan support. The legislation would ... [Includes two briefs]

Citadel Servicing’s foray into securitizing home loans that don’t meet the qualified-mortgage test is now slated for some time in March, after multiple delays, according to sources familiar with the company’s operations. The nonbank’s first nonprime deal is expected to be roughly $150 million.

Complaints by active-duty and retired U.S. military personnel about their mortgages rose in many categories tracked, both on a quarterly basis and on an annual basis, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB. Overall, they are definitely trending up. For instance, complaints by service members about all mortgage products in general rose from 582 incidents in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 739 in the fourth quarter of 2017, but they fell from a total of 741 in the third quarter of last year. The increase was a little more consistent when particular mortgage products were segregated out from the aggregate data. For instance, gripes about conventional mortgages rose from 218 in 4Q16 to 334 [with charts] ...