Ocwen Financial plans to boost its servicing portfolio and possibly originate nonprime mortgages now that it has acquired PHH Corp. Ocwen is by far the largest servicer of subprime mortgages but the nonbank to this point hasn’t focused its origination efforts on the portfolio. It has also been under servicing-acquisition constraints set by various regulators for years due to issues with its servicing practices. “We’re excited about the opportunity to resume growth activities, as permitted by ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to let their holdings of nonprime mortgages gradually taper off, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The government-sponsored enterprises held a total of $91.01 billion of nonprime mortgages at the end of September, largely in purchased/guaranteed loans originated before the financial crisis. The holdings were down by 21.2 percent on an annual basis. In the past year, Fannie has ... [Includes one data chart]

Waterfall Asset Management announced that it launched a residential mortgage conduit to focus on partnering with lenders to originate proprietary mortgage products under flow agreements. The conduit aims to purchase prime and near-prime mortgages with relatively high loan-to-value ratios. An affiliate of Caliber Home Loans is preparing to issue a $354.5 million nonprime mortgage-backed security, according to presale reports by DBRS and Fitch Ratings ... [Includes four briefs]

Trends in underwriting expanded-credit mortgages differ from what’s happening in the broader market, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Lenders have generally started to loosen standards for debt-to-income ratios and loan-to-value ratios as originations decline and the product mix shifts from refinances to purchase mortgages. However, in the expanded-credit market, credit characteristics were largely stagnant in the past year ... [Includes one data chart]

A test of the jumbo mortgage-backed security market by Wells Fargo went well enough that the bank plans to regularly issue deals after avoiding the market for years. “Based on the positive response from investors to Wells Fargo’s recent private residential MBS transaction and given acceptable market conditions, we expect to do periodic offerings of private residential MBS going forward,” said Tom Goyda, a spokesman for the bank. The $441.3 million issuance from Wells that closed ...

New Residential plans to be a consistent issuer of mortgage-backed securities with non-qualified mortgages and the real estate investment trust is not just looking for loans from its recently acquired New Penn Financial. The first non-QM MBS from New Residential closed this week. All of the loans in the deal were originated by New Penn, an originator New Residential acquired in early July. Michael Nierenberg, chairman, president and CEO of New Residential, said the REIT is ...

An affiliate of Verus Mortgage Capital revised the structure of a planned non-agency mortgage-backed security, opting for a more traditional approach after initially planning to test a unique variation. The planned closing date for the $442.3 million issuance was also pushed back. When presale reports for Verus Securitization Trust 2018-3 were published in mid-October, the deal was structured with an initial pro rata structure that would shift to a sequential structure. The MBS ...

The fix-and-flip financing market saw a big upswing following the housing market collapse, when there was a bounty of properties for sale at bargain prices. Since then, the market has normalized. But experts speaking on a panel at the Residential Mortgage Finance Symposium sponsored by the Structured Finance Industry Group this week in New York say fix-and-flip financing still holds a lot of promise for lenders willing to learn its fine points. Dash Robinson, president of Redwood Trust ...

Citadel Servicing formally introduced a mortgage program last week for properties with between five and 35 units. The properties can have any commercial use as long as at least one unit has a spot for a bed. “Basically, if it has a bed or living residence attached to it, we can fund it,” said Daniel Perl, Citadel’s CEO. The Outside Dodd-Frank Plus program is offered through Citadel’s wholesale channel. Loan amounts up to $3.0 million are available for loan-to-value ratios up to 70.0 percent ...

An affiliate of Waterfall Asset Management is preparing to issue the first rated mortgage-backed security backed by non-agency reverse mortgages since 2007. Kroll Bond Rating Agency and Morningstar Credit Ratings placed preliminary AAA ratings on Cascade Funding Mortgage Trust 2018-RM2 this week. The deal is backed by 915 active jumbo reverse mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of $571.8 million. The loans were originated between 2002 and 2008 and subsequently ...