Redwood Trusts four non-agency mortgage-backed securities the latest of which was issued last week have been generally well received by MBS investors. However, some investors, potential issuers and even the rating services have raised concerns regarding the non-agency MBS ratings process, both for Redwood and for other potential securitizers. A senior official at one of the rating services suggested to Inside Nonconforming Markets that ratings shopping is still occurring, and that the Redwood deals have been rated by the firms with the lowest credit-enhancement requirements ...
Firms participating in the Public-Private Investment Program with a focus on non-agency mortgage-backed securities all took losses in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the previous quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The Oaktree PPIP Fund which only invests in commercial MBS was the only public-private investment fund to increase its net internal rate of return since inception in the fourth quarter of 2011, Treasury Department data show. The Treasury cautioned that it is ... [Includes one data chart]
Investors have expressed a keen interest in programs that would facilitate bulk sales of real estate-owned properties. However, few are optimistic that such a program will come to fruition. Based on cost figures provided by Carrington Holding Company, Vincent Fiorillo, a portfolio manager at DoubleLine Capital, suggested investors could easily earn returns of 9.0 percent by renting REO properties. This is a very attractive alternative investment opportunity, Fiorillo said at the American Securitization Forums ASF 2012 conference last week in Las Vegas ...
The Department of Justice announced last week that it will increase the number of attorneys, analysts, agents and investigators looking into unlawful activities regarding mortgage-backed securities. The emphasis on MBS was directed by President Obama and is part of a new working group involving the DOJ, federal regulators and a number of state attorneys general. The DOJ, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Securities and Exchange Commission and state attorneys general led by New York AG Eric Schneiderman formed the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group under the existing Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force ...
The Federal Reserves recent suggestion that policymakers consider having the government-sponsored enterprises refinance underwater non-agency mortgages appears unlikely to happen, according to industry analysts and even the Fed. Still, the Fed claims such a program would stabilize the housing market and it would likely reduce losses on non-agency mortgage-backed securities. The Fed said the Home Affordable Refinance Program could be expanded beyond GSE loans or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could implement new programs to refinance non-agency borrowers that would otherwise meet HARP underwriting requirements. According to the Fed, 1.0 million to 2.5 million non-agency borrowers meet HARP refi standards ...
Redwood Trust is set to issue a $415.73 million non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security by the end of this month, continuing its run as the only issuer of new non-agency MBS. Unlike its three previous securities issued in 2010 and 2011, the real estate investment trust has faced little criticism from rating services regarding the characteristics of the new MBS. Fitch Ratings and, in a first, Kroll Bond Rating Agency are set to place AAA ratings on Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2012-1, which includes a pool of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, ARMs and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, 446 loans in all. Standard & Poors and Moodys Investors Service were critical of Redwoods previous deals and will not place ratings on the new issuance ...
Well-known jumbo originators contributed most of the collateral for Redwood Trusts pending $415.73 million non-agency mortgage-backed security, but a handful of smaller lenders also benefitted from Redwoods jumbo correspondent program. These lenders have little securitization experience but received strong endorsements from rating services and due-diligence firms. Redwood purchased most of the loans to be included in Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2012-1 on a flow basis, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Flagstar Bank led the smaller originators, with $31.84 million of its loans included in the security ...
Only five non-agency mortgage-backed securities were issued in 2011 that were not re-securitizations, servicer advances or agency-related deals, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. Some $27.59 billion in non-agency MBS were issued in 2011, nearly all of which was re-MBS. The five transactions, totaling $1.31 billion, accounted for 4.7 percent of all non-agency MBS issued in 2011. The $1.31 billion in issuance was nearly evenly divided among newly originated jumbo mortgages included in two securities issued by Redwood Trust and three securities backed by seasoned loans from other issuers ... [Includes one data chart]
Analysts are divided regarding the outlook for Ocwen Financial as the special servicer has grown significantly in the past two years. Fitch Ratings and Moodys Investors Service recently downgraded Ocwen and Saxon Mortgage due to concerns about Ocwens growth strategy and financial standing while others have endorsed Ocwen and its practices. Ocwen handled a $106.1 billion portfolio at the end of the third quarter of 2011, including $74.9 billion in subprime mortgages. The total included some of the $38.6 billion in subprime loans the servicer acquired from Litton Loan Servicing. At the beginning of February, the company is set to close acquisitions of the Saxon platform and its $26.6 billion portfolio as well as $15.0 billion in non-prime mortgage servicing rights from ...
Nationstar Mortgages servicing portfolio has grown significantly in the past year due to acquisitions from banks, a trend the companys officials suggest will continue. There is significant room for market penetration as larger banks dispose of servicing assets, the nonbank servicer said in a recent presentation to investors. Nationstar is touting its growth prospects even after increasing its servicing portfolio to $102.7 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2011 from $12.7 billion at the end of 2007. The company owns 49.2 percent of the holdings, with the rest being subserviced for others ...