The volume of rate/term refis in prime non-agency MBS more than doubled compared with the fourth quarter of 2024. Still, purchase mortgages dominate issuance.
Annaly started marketing an expanded-credit MBS last month just as President Trump announced new tariffs. The deal went through at a spread that likely wouldn’t have been achievable as recently as three years ago.
Rithm is both a buyer and seller of non-agency mortgages. Wider spreads in recent months have helped generate strong returns from loan acquisitions. Meanwhile, RTL production through its Genesis unit slowed during the first quarter.
Impairment rate on non-QMs declines; new issuers of home equity loan securitizations; bank offers new jumbo ARMs via wholesale channel; proprietary reverse-mortgage product from Liberty Reverse Mortgage.
Proponents of the non-agency market see GSE reform as an opportunity to take steps to increase the non-agency share of activity in the secondary market. The Trump administration’s plans for the secondary market remain unclear.
A new bill sets exemptions for secondary market participants after a state regulator established deeply unpopular licensing requirements at the beginning of the year.
Expanded-credit mortgages, jumbo loans and GSE-eligible collateral in MBS securitizations were all up in the first quarter of 2025. (Includes data tables.)