Legislation that would define loans held in portfolio by smaller banks as qualified mortgages garnered unanimous support at a markup in the House Financial Services Committee last week. H.R. 2226, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, was approved on a 55-0 vote. The bill has been kicking around in Congress for years and was modified at the markup to help win support in the Senate. Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, introduced the legislation. He said it will “expand access to ...

An affiliate of Invictus Capital Partners issued its latest nonprime mortgage-backed security this week and Deephaven Mortgage is preparing to close a deal. Invictus’s $249.0 million Verus Securitization Trust 2018-1 received AAA ratings from Morningstar Credit Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. Its senior tranche was supported by subordinated bonds equaling 37.5 percent of the deal. The loans had an average credit score of 700, an average combined loan-to-value ratio of 71.1 percent and ...

Nearly a year after an affiliate of Galton Funding issued its first expanded-prime mortgage-backed security, the firm is bringing a follow-up. The planned $316.9 million issuance is larger than the first deal from the firm and the MBS differ in some ways. Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency placed preliminary AAA ratings on Galton Funding Mortgage Trust 2018-1. The deal will include credit enhancement of 10.75 percent on the senior tranche. The loans have a weighted-average credit score of ...

The latest jumbo mortgage-backed security planned by JPMorgan Chase is smaller than other deals recently issued by the firm. J.P. Morgan Mortgage Trust 2018-1 will be a $463.7 million issuance. A similarly structured deal from Chase in December had a volume of $883.8 million, which followed a $911.0 million deal in October. All three MBS share similar characteristics, with Chase as the top contributor and loans that seasoned for an average of three months at the time of issuance ...

Net income per share at Redwood Trust increased in 2017 as the real estate investment trust put an emphasis on expanded-credit mortgages and is poised to further diversify its residential mortgage activities. The real estate investment trust estimated that its net income per share will fall somewhere in the range of $1.57 to $1.63 for 2017, up from $1.54 per share in 2016. The REIT added that its average return on equity will be in the range of 11.6 percent to 12.1 percent in 2017 compared with ...

New Penn Financial recently introduced a new non-agency program that allows for non-qualified mortgages and alternative documentation, among other features. The SmartEdge product includes loan amounts up to $3.0 million, credit scores as low as 620, debt-to-income ratios up to 50.0 percent and loan-to-value ratios as high as 90.0 percent. New Penn is in the process of being sold to New Residential Mortgage, a real estate investment trust. SmartSelf allows ... [Includes two briefs]

Angel Oak Capital Advisors saw stronger than expected demand from investors for a fund that focuses on non-qualified mortgages. AOCA announced last week that the private fund closed to new investors after raising $291 million, exceeding the initial goal of $250 million.

Issuance of non-agency mortgage-backed securities backed by new originations increased on an annual basis in 2017, with gains from prime jumbo MBS and expanded-credit MBS, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. A total of $10.88 billion of prime jumbo MBS was issued during the year, up 16.7 percent from 2016. Expanded-credit MBS – which include mortgages with alternative documentation, non-qualified ... [Includes one data chart]

Redwood Trust is set to issue two prime jumbo mortgage-backed securities in January, according to presale reports published this week. Issuance of two similar deals in quick succession by one firm is relatively uncommon, but Redwood appears to see strong demand from investors and has mortgages to sell. Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2018-1, a $341.25 million issuance, is scheduled to close on Jan. 19. A $462.01 million MBS, Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2018-2, is penciled in for Jan. 25 ...

After issuing nonprime mortgage-backed securities with post-crisis record-breaking sizes, the latest deal from Lone Star Funds will be slightly smaller. The firm is set to issue a $401.21 million nonprime MBS this month, according to presale reports by DBRS and Fitch Ratings. COLT 2018-1 Mortgage Loan Trust follows a $426.18 million issuance from Lone Star in September. That was the largest nonprime MBS backed by post-crisis originations. All of the loans in the previous issuance ...