The supply of home mortgage debt outstanding started growing again during the second quarter of 2015, thanks to relatively strong growth in retained portfolios, according to an Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of new data from the Federal Reserve and other sources. The Fed reported late last week that $9.901 trillion of single-family mortgage debt was outstanding as of the end of June. That was up 0.4 percent from March and represented the biggest supply of mortgage servicing since the third quarter of 2013. The servicing market had been shrinking...[Includes two data tables]

The serious delinquency rate on subprime mortgages continued to improve in the second quarter of 2015 while the amount of subprime mortgages outstanding also dwindled. An estimated $330.0 billion in subprime mortgages were outstanding as of the end of the second quarter of 2015, according to Inside Nonconforming Markets. The volume was down by 14.5 percent compared with the second quarter of 2014. In that time, the serious delinquency rate ... [Includes one data chart]

The monitor of a $2.0 billion settlement involving Ocwen Financial revealed last week that the nonbank was found to have failed another metric under the settlement. However, the monitor noted that Ocwen has worked to address many of the issues that have dogged the company over the past year. The monitor re-tested Ocwen on a number of metrics under the settlement due to concerns that were raised about the integrity of the servicer’s internal review group ...

New issuance of non-mortgage ABS increased in most major product categories during the second quarter of 2015, although a slowdown in floorplan deals dampened the party slightly. The ABS market generated $54.15 billion in new issuance during the second quarter, a gain of 5.8 percent from the first three months of 2015. It was the strongest new issuance figure since the financial market meltdown, with the previous high ($54.22 billion) coming in the third quarter of 2007. ABS issuance has climbed...[Includes two data tables]

Ocwen Financial’s servicing of certain mortgages in non-agency mortgage-backed securities remains at risk due to a downgrade watch issued last week by Standard & Poor’s. Officials at Ocwen said they were surprised by the announcement while noting that Moody’s Investors Service upgraded various ratings relating to the nonbank. S&P said it placed servicer ratings for Ocwen on watch for downgrade last week due to regulatory scrutiny of the company, results from ...

Performance of subprime mortgages continues to improve as the volume of loans outstanding slowly declines. Some $320.0 billion in subprime mortgages were outstanding as of the end of the first quarter of 2015, according to estimates by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Volume was down 4.2 percent from the previous quarter and 16.0 percent from the first quarter of 2014. The total past-due rate for subprime mortgages fell to 17.60 percent ... [Includes one data chart]

Ocwen Financial filed its annual report for 2014 this week and noted that its auditors decided against requiring a “going concern” qualification for the nonbank. “We believe the filing of our annual report, without a qualification as to our ability to operate as a going concern, is additional evidence that our strategy to strengthen our compliance management system, strengthen the service we provide to our customers and improve our financial stability is working and that confidence ...

Ocwen Financial’s renewed focus on the non-agency market includes plans for much higher margins than what the nonbank produced servicing and originating agency mortgages. However, officials at Ocwen stressed this week that the nonbank is not completely exiting the agency servicing market. Michael Bourque, an executive vice president and CFO at Ocwen, reported that the nonbank had a pre-tax income margin of 33 percent in 2012. By 2014, Ocwen’s margin had declined to ...

Ocwen Financial had a rough 2014, but officials at the nonbank suggest the company will be profitable in 2015 and beyond. Ocwen faces a number of outstanding issues, including questions from an independent auditor regarding the nonbank’s ability to operate as a going concern. Ocwen reported a preliminary net loss of $546.29 million in 2014 compared with net income of $310.42 million in 2013. Officials at the nonbank said the loss for 2014 incorporates the impact of ...

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...