The delinquency rate on non-qualified mortgages in mortgage-backed securities remains low, as issuers are largely avoiding risk-layering. As of the end of 2017, the average current-to-delinquent roll rate for non-QMs in MBS seasoned for one year was 0.4 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Only three non-QM loans tracked by CoreLogic have liquidated so far, and none realized a loss. Non-QM MBS have thicker credit enhancement than ... [Includes one data chart]

A new expanded-prime mortgage-backed security from Redwood Trust is nearly 40.0 percent larger than the prior deal from the real estate investment trust. Redwood is set to issue the $444.29 million Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2018-CH-1, following a similar $320.30 million deal in November and a $307.64 million deal in September, the first from Redwood to focus on loans from the firm’s Choice program. Choice mortgages have slightly wider underwriting standards than ...

Flagstar Bank is set to issue its third jumbo mortgage-backed security in as many quarters, according to presale reports published this week. The bank plans to issue a $487.66 million deal, which follows a $576.44 million deal from October and a $443.79 million issuance in July. Underwriting characteristics across the three MBS are largely similar. The new issuance includes mortgages with an average credit score of 761, an average combined loan-to-value ratio of 67.4 percent and ...

The GOP housing-finance reform bill being developed in the Senate would keep the current standards for loan limits that apply to the government-sponsored enterprises, according to a draft of the bill released last week. Boosters of the non-agency mortgage market have long called for lower GSE loan limits, but Congress hasn’t shown an appetite to reduce them. The bill was drafted by Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, and many Democrats have withheld support to this point, including ...

A bill introduced in the Senate last week with some bipartisan support would allow real estate investment trusts to regain access to funding from Federal Home Loan Banks. The bill would overturn a 2016 rule from the Federal Housing Finance Agency that restricted captive insurance companies from being FHLBank members. Before the FHFA rule took effect, a number of REITs established captive insurers to gain access to FHLBank advances, which come with better terms than ...

Citadel Servicing’s foray into securitizing home loans that don’t meet the qualified-mortgage test is now slated for some time in March, after multiple delays, according to sources familiar with the company’s operations. The nonbank’s first nonprime deal is expected to be roughly $150 million.

Market share for lenders whose loans were included in prime jumbo mortgage-backed securities was much more dispersed in 2017 than the previous year, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. JPMorgan Chase – the top issuer of jumbo MBS – remained the lender with the most collateral for new deals. But the bank reduced its jumbo deliveries by a whopping 65.1 percent from 2016 to just $1.58 billion last year. That was still tops in the market, accounting for 14.5 percent of the loans pooled in $10.88 billion of ... [Includes two data charts]

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 ...