Residential MBS production continued to gain speed in the second quarter of 2015 while non-mortgage securitization remained strong, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. A total of $419.42 billion of single-family MBS and non-mortgage ABS were issued during the second quarter, an increase of 21.2 percent from the first three months of the year. It was the strongest new issuance total since the third quarter of 2013 and marked the fifth straight quarterly increase since the market hit a cyclical low at the beginning of last year. Most of the gain came from the agency MBS sector, which totaled $352.73 billion in new issuance, a gain of 29.7 percent from the first quarter. All three agencies posted hefty gains, with the biggest coming at Ginnie Mae, where new issuance jumped 46.7 percent to hit $120.36 billion. A lot of Ginnie’s growth is coming from an unusual surge of refinance activity, which accounted for ... [ charts]

Non-members of the Federal Home Loan Banks are able to service mortgages under the Acquired Member Asset program, according to a recent regulatory interpretation issued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHLBanks have been challenged with finding eligible members to take over the servicing of AMA loans from private financial institutions that want to transfer the servicing rights for various reasons. Some members want to do so because they can no longer service the loan, and others are unwilling to continue servicing the loan, said the FHFA. As a result, a number of banks have been considering or have already allowed the sale of servicing rights to institutions that are neither members of any bank, or affiliates of bank system members.

The frequently-asked-questions guidance to using the FHA’s consolidated Single Family Policy Handbook is good to have though it shows just how complicated the FHA’s mortgage origination process is, according to lenders. In fact, the updated FHA handbook could still be confusing to borrowers simply because a lot more information is concentrated in one source, lenders said. According to the FHA, the more than 290 FAQs will enable lenders to make operation adjustments before the handbook goes into effect on Sept. 14, 2015. The FAQs are for information purposes only and do not apply to current FHA policies. They do not establish or modify policy contained in the handbook. The FAQs reiterate information in the handbook under headings such as Credit Underwriting, Closing and Insuring, FHA System Support and Consumer Information. Industry observers noted that the FAQs did not ...

The Federal Home Loan Banks increased their advances to members for the third consecutive year and substantially grew them by $72.1 billion in 2014 to $570.7 billion. In fact, at the end of the year, advances reached their highest quarter-end level since the first quarter of 2010 and the increase was the largest since 2007, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s annual report to Congress released this week. Ten of the 12 FHLBanks reported increased advances last year. The report noted in recent years, some members may have increased their use of advances to meet higher liquidity requirements. Despite this growth, the demand is below levels witnessed during the height of the financial crisis.

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 loan limit more than doubled for the Mortgage Partnership Finance program through which members of certain Federal Home Loan Banks can deliver jumbos to Redwood Trust. Officials at both the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and Redwood are optimistic about the MPF Direct product, though it’s unclear how much volume the new offering will generate. Beginning in the third quarter, the loan limit for MPF Direct will increase from $729,750 to $1.5 million. Previously, the MPF Direct product targeted loans with balances between $625,500, which is the current conforming loan limit for certain high-cost areas, and $729,750, which was the high-cost loan limit during a time when the FHLBank of Chicago was working to launch MPF Direct. Outside of MPF Direct, Redwood purchases...

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines and Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle completed their merger June 1, the first time in 80 years that two regional banks have combined forces. The combined banks will operate under the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines name and as a result of the voluntary merger, it will become the largest bank in the FHLB system geographically and membership wise, serving close to 1,500 institutions in 13 states and three U.S. Pacific territories. While the FHLB Des Moines had 1,156 members and $95.5 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2014, the FHLB Seattle had 316 members and had $35.1 billion in assets as of the end of 2014.

After a pilot jumbo mortgage loan program between the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and Redwood Trust kicked off this quarter and expanded into a full roll-out beginning June 1, it was announced this week that the loan limit will just about double. The new single-family loan limit for the Mortgage Partnership Finance Direct program will increase from the current $729,750 to $1.5 million in the third quarter. The MPF Direct loan limit was raised primarily to help members that operate in urban or other areas where home prices are higher than the national average, said John Stocchetti, an executive vice president at the FHLB Chicago and group head of the MPF program.

Community development financial institutions are feeling left out in the cold when it comes to joining the Federal Home Loan Bank system due to stricter collateral requirements. These nondepository CDFIs, which provide credit and financial services to underserved communities, represented less than six percent of FHLB members as of the end of the year, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. This translates to 30 members out of the 522 CDFIs nationwide.Treasury-certified non depository CDFIs were permitted to become members in 2008, allowing CDFIs to use their current loan portfolio to raise cash and originate new loans. The GAO performed an analysis of CDFI membership rates after being asked to review the FHLBanks’ implementation of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act provisions.

The Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank hopes to issue its very first Ginnie Mae MBS by the third quarter, and if all goes well certain other FHLBanks may become issuers as well. In a recent speech, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt noted the interest in the program, saying the agency has “approved the requests of several other FHLBanks to participate.” Watt did not identify...