The slowdown in securitization is partly due to the lag between origination and MBS issuance, but there are other factors not related to timing...

Following a four-month trial and nine days of deliberations, a New York jury acquitted Abacus and two of its senior officers...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency needs to be more forthright about its plans to expand the credit-risk transfer activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. In a letter sent to FHFA Director Mel Watt this week, the six senators said the agency’s public guidance on the program “lacks specificity, metrics and long-term direction.” Watt and other FHFA officials have talked about risk transfers by the two government-sponsored enterprises, but most of the description of the program is somewhat vaguely outlined in the agency’s strategic plan and the so-called 2015 scorecard. The bipartisan group, which includes Sens. Mark Warner, D-VA, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, urged...

Securitization rates for newly originated home mortgages remained at historically low levels during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market analysis. The ratio of new MBS issuance to primary-market mortgage originations was just 71.6 percent during the first quarter. That’s down from 75.4 percent for all of last year and the record high of 88.8 percent back in 2009. The slowdown in securitization rates is...[Includes one data table]

Redwood Trust can now acquire jumbo mortgages of up to $1.5 million from members of the Federal Home Loan Banks under the Mortgage Partnership Finance Direct program. That’s more than double the previous limit – $729,750 – and will significantly expand the pool of potential mortgages that Redwood will acquire. Previously, MPF Direct targeted the narrow range of loans with balances between $625,500, which is the current high-cost conforming loan limit, and ...

The VA maintained a sizeable lead in first-lien mortgage refinancing over FHA and private mortgage insurers in the first quarter of 2015 but yielded to both in purchase originations during the same period. According to the Inside Mortgage Finance database, mortgage lenders originated approximately $221.0 billion of refi loans in the first quarter, a 51.4 percent increase from a revised fourth-quarter production estimate of $146.0 billion. Of first-quarter mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, refi loans comprised 61.4 percent, up sharply from 37.6 percent for all of 2014. VA streamline refis accounted for $20.4 billion while FHA refis made up $12.2 billion of refis pooled in agency mortgage-backed securities. FHA’s refi production jumped 57.8 percent in the first quarter. On the other hand, refi loans with private MI accounted for $14.2 billion produced during the ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs expects to issue a final rule establishing ability-to-repay (ATR) standards and defining a “qualified mortgage” in October, according to the agency’s regulatory agenda for the second half of 2015. Proposed in May 2014, the rule would implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, which, among other things, would require the VA to define the types of loans that are QMs under the new ATR provisions of the Truth in Lending Act. VA loans that are designated as QM would have either safe-harbor protections or the presumption that the borrower is able to repay the mortgage loan, in accordance with the new ATR provisions. The final rule would not change VA’s regulations or policies regarding mortgage originations, except when lenders want to originate QMs, the VA said. A VA spokesman clarified that action dates on any particular rulemaking are not ...

Banks, thrifts and credit unions reported a slight uptick in the amount of unused HELOC commitments compared to the end of last year.

The six, including Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, are seeking additional information on such things as the role mortgage insurers play in credit risk...

The Office of the Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner has launched a preliminary investigation into lender-paid mortgage insurance, a revelation that is causing additional unease at private MIs. Sources confirmed to Inside Mortgage Finance this week that insurance regulators in the state are looking at what one official called discounting “practices” for the product. He added: “Wisconsin is asking them to name names: ‘Who are you giving discounts to, on what basis, etc.” This official, who did not want to go on the record regarding the matter, said...