The new bill signed by President Obama should make condo lending a little easier...

Impac said that while it sells production, it is now retaining more than 80.0 percent of its mortgage servicing rights.

Lenders originating agency mortgages are seeing plenty of demand in the secondary market, according to panelists at the California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Western Secondary Market Conference this week in San Francisco. “Capital is searching for a home,” said Rob Branthover, a managing director at Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. He noted that many investors are focusing on agency mortgages. Mike Duncan, a senior hedge manager at Compass Analytics, said...

Troubled waters are ahead for mortgage servicers as 12 of the 27 largest rated shops experienced portfolio declines in the first quarter of 2016, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch data showed modest portfolio declines for the five banks and seven nonbanks, ranging from less than 1 percent to a little more than 6 percent. Nonbanks, totaling 17, outnumbered the banks. Statebridge Co. experienced...

Rob Branthover, a managing director at Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., noted that purchase-mortgage originators are doing well…

Fannie Mae recently updated its loan production estimates. The GSE projects $1.78 trillion in originations this year and $1.55 trillion next year.

The second large prime non-agency mortgage-backed security from JPMorgan Chase will differ somewhat from the pioneering deal the bank priced in March. Among other changes, the Chase Mortgage Trust 2016-2 is larger than the previous MBS and includes a higher share of jumbos, according to presale reports. The MBS issued late this week totaled $2.65 billion, with mortgages eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises accounting for 55.0 percent of ...

The securitization rate for adjustable-rate mortgages has declined significantly in the past year, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Some 11.4 percent of ARMs originated in the first quarter of 2016 were included in mortgage-backed securities, down from 20.1 percent in the first quarter of 2015. When ARMs make it into MBS, it’s generally in securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. The vast majority of non-agency ... [Includes two data charts]

Originations of non-agency nonprime mortgages have been limited in the years since the financial crisis, with many borrowers with low credit scores receiving FHA loans instead. Officials at a number of nonprime lenders have noted that loan originator compensation requirements have limited incentives for loan officers to work on nonprime mortgages. A loan originator might be able to complete two FHA mortgages in the time it takes to close one nonprime mortgage, and there’s always a ...

Despite quickening refinance activity, the FHA single-family market soared over the $1 trillion mark in loans pooled in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis. A record $1.001 trillion of FHA single-family loans made up the lion’s share of collateral backing Ginnie MBS as of the end of June. That was a 1.3 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 5.5 percent gain from the midway point in 2015. Steady growth in FHA loans helped push Ginnie single-family MBS to $1.576 trillion outstanding, topping Freddie Mac for second place in the agency market. The VA loan guaranty program was still the fastest-growing corner of the government-insured market, with total VA loans in Ginnie pools up 3.8 percent from March and 16.7 percent higher than a year ago. The actual amount of FHA and VA loans outstanding is somewhat ... [ 4 charts ]