The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s request for comments on whether to allow for a right to cure on debt-to-income ratio issues for qualified mortgages prompted the typical divisions between lenders and consumer advocates. Lenders suggest that borrowers would benefit from the adjustment to QM standards, while consumer advocates warn that the change would weaken QM protections and encourage sloppy underwriting. The 43 percent DTI ratio standard for ...

While originations of loans outside of standards for qualified mortgages appear limited thus far, lenders continue to flood into the non-QM market. And industry analysts suggest that the sector has plenty of room to grow, particularly if the government-sponsored enterprises exit conservatorship. W.J. Bradley announced this week that it’s offering a number of new non-agency mortgage products, including non-QMs for prime borrowers. “We have recognized ...

SunTrust Banks settled criminal allegations this month relating to activity under the Home Affordable Modification Program. The $320 million settlement marked the first time a HAMP servicer paid a monetary penalty under the program. To this point, penalties for violations of HAMP guidelines have been relatively lenient, with the harshest maneuver being a temporary stop in incentive payments from the program. However, an investigation led by ...

CORRECTION: The jumbo mortgage-backed securities issuers and underwriters ranking published in the July 4, 2014, issue of Inside Nonconforming Markets has been revised due to a data error. The revised chart is available online. Citigroup agreed to a $7.0 billion settlement this week with federal regulators and certain states related to non-agency MBS activities prior to 2009. Associate Attorney General Tony West suggested that ... [Includes seven briefs]

A spike in issuance of jumbo mortgage-backed securities in the last days of the second quarter of 2014 wasn’t enough to boost issuance to the meager levels seen in the previous quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Some $1.25 billion in jumbo MBS were issued in the second quarter, a 24.9 percent decline from the previous quarter. Four issuers brought deals to the market during the quarter ... [Includes one data chart]

The Treasury Department issued a wide-ranging request for comments last week as part of an effort to increase issuance of non-agency mortgage-backed securities. Treasury officials said they are working toward developing standards and practices for the non-agency MBS market. “The private-label securities market has been dormant since the financial crisis,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. “The fact is, we need to attract more private capital to the housing market ...

JPMorgan Chase issued a $303.75 million jumbo mortgage-backed security last week backed by 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. The deal suggests that there is some viability in securitization as the loans included in the deal were suitable to be held in bank portfolios and in fact were mostly originated by banks. First Republic Bank accounted for 55.1 percent of the contributions to J.P. Morgan Mortgage Trust 2014-2 followed by Chase itself with a ...

The new lenders contributing to jumbo mortgage-backed securities could pose risks to investors in the deals, according to Standard & Poor’s. The rating service said that due diligence and strong underwriting standards currently mitigate the risks, but there are concerns that the lenders with limited track records won’t be able to fulfill representation-and-warranty repurchase obligations. Jumbo MBS have seen contributions from a mix of lenders. The main contributors ...

Officials with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors suggest that state regulators are likely to set capital requirements for nonbank servicers due to concerns about how a failure of a nonbank would impact borrowers. “People have to feel confident that their mortgage check is going where it’s supposed to go, when it’s supposed to get there,” Chuck Cross, a senior vice president for consumer protection at the CSBS, said last week during a webinar hosted by Inside Mortgage Finance Publications ...

The $261.01 million jumbo mortgage-backed security that Shellpoint Partners issued in June 2013 has had 14 loans go 30-days delinquent, four loans go 60-days delinquent, and one loan go 90-days delinquent, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency. As of May, only three of the loans were 30-days delinquent, with the other once-delinquent mortgages having returned to current status or paid off. KBRA affirmed its ratings of ... [Includes four briefs]