When Fannie Mae recently announced that its automated underwriting system would be free for all seller-servicers, matching a move made by Freddie Mac, lenders everywhere rejoiced. But not the nation’s mortgage cooperatives, which stand to lose business because the advantage of their “buying power” (with Fannie and Freddie, at least) is now greatly reduced. “Co-ops basically lose their main benefit,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage ...

Prior to the financial crisis and the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie, some seller-servicers had “strategic alliance” deals that allowed them to pay under 15 basis points in g-fees...

With Greece ready to crack up, it was thought that mortgage rates might plunge. But it hasn't happened yet...

Fitch raised its ABS rating share from 55.0 percent for all of 2014 to about the same level it had back in 2013.

Bank holdings of non-agency MBS declined by 16.1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2014...

Former Goldman Sachs officials sure like the nonprime mortgage space. (It's all about yield.)

The eight banks tracked by the OCC’s Mortgage Metrics report – including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase – completed 7,571 principal reduction mods in the first quarter...

But don’t count out depositories quite yet: Banks and thrifts still play the biggest role in the top 100, even if it’s shrinking.

While the characteristics of loans included in jumbo mortgage-backed securities continue to be strong overall, industry analysts note that there are significant differences in “soft” underwriting guidelines used by lenders. “Not all underwriting guidelines, and exceptions to guidelines, are created equal,” analysts at Morningstar Credit Ratings cautioned in a recent report. “Some originators recently have introduced programs that make qualifying for financing easier and require less income documentation.” The company, which is making a new push to rate jumbo MBS, reviewed the guidelines of a number of the most active jumbo originators and aggregators ...

A recent ruling by the New York Court of Appeals regarding the statute of limitations for representation-and-warranty claims on non-agency mortgage-backed securities has caused concerns for some participants in the new-issue jumbo MBS market. In ACE Securities v. DB Structured Products, the court ruled that the statute of limitations for claims of breaches of reps and warrants starts when a deal is closed, not when a potential breach is discovered. Lawyers involved in non-agency MBS were divided on how the ruling would impact issuance going forward ...