A total of $47.13 billion of new non-mortgage ABS were issued during the first quarter of 2013, a solid 31.2 percent gain from the end of last year, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking of issuers and underwriters. The fast start for 2013 ABS issuance was up 15.1 percent from the first three months of last year, although it came up short of three of the strongest quarters since the financial market meltdown in late 2008, including the second quarter of 2012. If new issuance can maintain its current pace for the rest of the year, 2013 could see the strongest ABS production volume since before the crash. The driver so far has been...[Includes two data charts]

The non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security market expanded significantly in the first quarter of 2013, with more new issuance than was produced in all of last year, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. Issuance showed no signs of slowing down entering the second quarter, led by Redwood Trust. Some $3.95 billion in non-agency jumbo MBS was issued in the first quarter, compared with $3.46 billion in issuance in all of last year. The last time non-agency ... [Includes one data chart]

Moody’s Investors Service said it would not have given its highest rating to the jumbo mortgage-backed security issued last week by JPMorgan Chase because of concerns about the deal’s representation and warranty framework and the lack of risk retention by Chase. DBRS, Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency gave JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2013-1 AAA ratings with credit enhancement of 7.40 percent on the top-rated tranche. The rating services said the credit enhancement on the deal was ...

With banks starting to issue jumbo mortgage-backed securities instead of holding originations in portfolio, the sector has expanded beyond the two nonbanks that propped up non-agency jumbo MBS issuance since 2010. The activity shows favorable economics for non-agency MBS, including tighter spreads on interest rates between conforming mortgages and non-agency jumbos. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage was 3.596 percent this week, according to Inside Mortgage Finance ...

Springleaf Financial is set to issue another subprime mortgage-backed security backed by vintage originations. The fifth deal from Springleaf since 2011 shows continued demand from investors for non-agency MBS. Springleaf’s $835.11 million MBS will receive a AAA rating with loss coverage of 55.5 percent on the top-rated tranche, according to a presale report released this week by Standard & Poor’s. The average seasoning of the loans is seven years. As with previous Springleaf deals, all of ...

In a mortgage market thoroughly dominated by agency-eligible home loans, a handful of boutique products such as no-downpayment loans, “energy-efficient” mortgages and peer-to-peer mortgages are trying to gain a foothold. Navy Federal Credit Union has been offering a no-downpayment mortgage since 2010, and officials said demand for the “HomeBuyers Choice” product has grown this year. The credit union holds originations of the no-downpayment loan in portfolio. The product is available for balances ...

Major banks significantly increased their use of principal reduction loan modifications in 2012, according to new data from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The eight banks and one thrift tracked by the OCC completed 126,283 principal reduction mods in 2012, up from 43,396 the previous year. Principal reduction was used on 20.0 percent of all loss mitigation actions taken by the firms in the fourth quarter, up from an 8.5 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2011. Mortgages in non-agency MBS ...

Bank of America agreed to a $165.0 million settlement with the National Credit Union Administration this week regarding non-agency mortgage-backed securities purchased by credit unions that subsequently failed. BofA did not admit fault as part of the settlement. The NCUA has received more than $335.0 million in non-agency MBS settlements with five firms and has similar lawsuits pending against nine other firms. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors ... [Includes three briefs]

JPMorgan Chase and EverBank Financial are separately working on non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security deals, according to presale reports released this week. Issuance by the two banks will double the number of post-crisis non-agency jumbo MBS issuers, and they are doing things a little differently than standard-setter Redwood Trust. After the pending deals close, $3.59 billion in non-agency jumbo MBS will have been issued in 2013, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database, more than the ...

Banks large and small varied their portfolio lending tactics in 2012, with some increasing first-lien originations for portfolio and others allowing runoff and even selling some of their holdings. Overall, bank and thrift first-lien portfolio holdings increased in 2012 compared with the previous year, with originations outpacing prepayments and sales. Banks and thrifts held $1.80 trillion in first-lien mortgages in portfolio at the end of 2012, up 2.3 percent from the end of 2011, according to ... [Includes one data chart]