Use of a deal agent in new non-agency mortgage-backed securities will help convince large investors to return to the market, according to industry participants. The benchmark non-agency MBS in the works with help from the Treasury Department will include a deal agent, according to Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury on housing finance policy. At a talk this week hosted by the Financial Services Roundtable and CoreLogic, Stegman noted that Treasury continues to ...

The latest jumbo mortgage-backed security from Two Harbors Investment is set to have the lowest credit enhancement levels of any deal issued this year, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Strong performance and underwriting characteristics along with repeat issuance appears to have helped decrease credit enhancement requirements for the transaction. The $241.06 million Agate Bay Mortgage Trust 2015-3 received a preliminary AAA rating ... [Includes one data chart]

LendingHome announced this week that it has originated more than $100 million in loans since launching a year ago, focusing on flexible financing options for investors with a wide range of credit characteristics. The firm is a marketplace lender, connecting borrowers with investors. To this point, LendingHome has focused its originations on bridge loans and loans for investor properties. Officials at the lender said LendingHome plans to offer nonconforming mortgages this year with ...

The Obama administration and the head of the Mortgage Bankers Association, among others, agree that the ongoing conservatorship of the government-sponsored enterprises is unsustainable. However, with a strong divide between political parties regarding the level of government support needed in a system that replaces Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, GSE reform remains a notion years away from completion. “Market participants are truly uncertain about the government’s longer-term ...

Lenders of all stripes continue to push for changes to rules established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There are divisions among trade groups about which lenders deserve special treatment regarding qualified mortgages and portfolio lending, among other issues. This week, the Community Mortgage Lenders of America proposed that lenders should receive regulatory relief if they are small, largely focus on qualified mortgages and avoid regulatory ...

The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and MAX Exchange announced a pilot program that will allow members of the New York FHLBank to sell jumbo whole loans on an open exchange platform. MAX Exchange is a peer-to-peer trading platform and clearing house for mortgages. The pilot program will include a limited number of pre-approved traditional secondary mortgage investors and a limited number of New York FHLBank members ... [Includes six briefs]

Some $4.60 billion in jumbo mortgage-backed securities were issued in the first quarter of 2015, the highest quarterly volume seen in the aftermath of the financial crisis, according to Inside Nonconforming Markets. Jumbo MBS activity has had large swings in recent years due to shifting investor appetite and volume hasn’t been anywhere near the levels seen before 2008. However, the market recovered from an unexpected increase in interest rates ... [Includes one data chart]

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 ...