Issuance of prime non-agency MBS nearly ground to a halt during the fourth quarter. For the full year, activity was down almost 60%. (Includes three data charts.)
Changes are under consideration for determining which firms qualify as community development financial institutions. Under a current proposal, CDFIs would have to follow the CFPB’s ability-to-repay underwriting requirements.
Six expanded-credit MBS started marketing within the past two weeks and there are also offerings of prime jumbos, HELOCs and even a credit-risk transfer deal from Santander Bank.
Non-agency MBS issuance perked up in early January as investor demand improved. Redwood Trust offered a jumbo MBS after a year-long lull in issuance and expanded-credit MBS issuers priced deals at tightening spreads.
JPMorgan Chase is rolling out its first non-prime mortgage-backed security stocked solely with investment-property loans underwritten using debt service coverage ratios. Chase so far has focused on prime borrowers.
Lenders cut back on jumbo originations in the third quarter, and they kept most of what they produced. The result: a 73% nosedive in prime RMBS issuance from the second quarter. (Includes three data charts.)