Legislation being pushed by Republicans in Congress would reduce appraisal requirements for a unique set of mortgages: those with balances of $250,000 or less that are held in portfolio for three years. Supporters of the legislation claim the carve-out will help first-time homebuyers and lenders in rural areas, while consumer advocates caution that the proposal could lead to practices similar to those that contributed to the financial crisis. H.R. 3221, the Securing Access to Affordable Mortgage Act ...

Citadel Servicing Corp. recently launched a one-month bank-statement program for self-employed borrowers. While some lenders offer bank-statement programs, borrowers are typically required to provide at least one year of documentation. Citadel stressed that deposits into the borrower’s bank account aren’t the determinant figure to verify income. “Income is attested to and declared [by the borrower], a Citadel underwriter will confirm that ... [Includes three briefs]

A handful of banks that provide an early look at jumbo origination activity boosted volume in the second quarter of 2017, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. First Republic Bank funded $3.05 billion in single-family originations in the second quarter, up 21.0 percent from the previous period and a 4.1 percent increase from the second quarter of last year. Jumbos account for a large majority of the bank’s total production. “Overall, loan demand is strong, though ...

The first post-crisis prime non-agency mortgage-backed security from Flagstar Bank looks a lot like other deals issued in recent years, including exceptionally strong underwriting standards. However, the bank did break from the pack slightly with a few features in the new issuance. The $443.79 million Flagstar Mortgage Trust 2017-1 received AAA ratings with credit enhancement of 6.25 percent on the senior tranche. The deal was predominantly backed by non-agency jumbos, but ...

Redwood Trust is acquiring enough “expanded-prime” mortgages to put together a non-agency securitization, according to officials at the real estate investment trust. Redwood announced this week that it plans to issue a mortgage-backed security collateralized by loans from its “Choice” program as soon as September. The Choice program allows for somewhat looser underwriting standards than what’s typically seen in the jumbo MBS market, such as slightly higher debt-to-income ratios or ...

Participants in the post-crisis nonprime mortgage-backed securities market have resisted efforts to brand their deals as “subprime” and for good reason: the loans backing these transactions more closely resemble pre-crisis Alt A mortgages. In fact, some of the underwriting characteristics on new nonprime loans are even stronger than the credit quality on pre-crisis Alt A mortgages, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Between ... [Includes one data chart]

Impac Mortgage Holdings has continued to increase its production of non-qualified mortgages and plans to issue a $400.0 million mortgage-backed security collateralized by such loans, according to officials at the nonbank. Impac originated $289.60 million of non-QMs in 2016. In the first half of 2017, the nonbank had $416.70 million in non-QM volume. “We’ve seen a decrease in the conforming market and now month-over-month, we’re seeing an increase in the non-QM market ...

Investors in non-agency mortgage-backed securities continue to grapple with a decision by a trustee to withhold millions of dollars from investors in vintage deals. Industry analysts suggest that post-crisis non-agency MBS include protections against such withholding. At the end of June, Wells Fargo withheld $94.3 million in funds from investors in 20 non-agency MBS that were subject to clean-up calls by New Residential Investment. The deals in question are the subject of a lawsuit ...

Ocwen Financial reported a net loss of $44.44 million for the second quarter of 2017, with legal issues accounting for a large portion of the loss. The nonbank also agreed on terms with New Residential Investment to transfer mortgage servicing rights on non-agency mortgages. Ocwen had a $33.60 million expense in the quarter tied to legal settlements. “We settled additional legacy litigation matters further reducing future uncertainty,” said Ron Faris, the company’s president and CEO ...

JPMorgan Chase is preparing to issue another large prime non-agency mortgage-backed security, according to documents filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It will be the third prime non-agency MBS from the bank this year. Moody’s Investors Service this week affirmed its assessment of First Republic Bank as a “strong” originator of jumbo mortgages. “First Republic distinguishes itself from other originators in its consistency ... [Includes two briefs]