The long-awaited correction in MBS prices was put on hold this week with the news that the Federal Reserve isn’t ready to hike interest rates anytime soon. Moreover, now there’s a growing belief among some economists and mortgage market watchers that the central bank may not raise interest rates at all this year. And there’s even a school of thought that suggests the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond might hit 1.0 percent before it reaches 2.0 percent. As Inside MBS & ABS went to press this week, the 10-year was...

A proposed rule issued by the Federal Reserve in March could increase costs and reduce securitization activities, according to industry participants. The Fed’s proposed single-counterparty credit limits for large banking organizations were required by the Dodd-Frank Act. The Fed proposed single-counterparty credit limits for domestic and foreign bank holding companies with $50.0 billion or more in total consolidated assets. The Fed first issued...

The mortgage industry and secondary-market investors continue to struggle with uncertainty over the degree of liability for errors in complying with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s integrated-disclosure rule, commonly known as TRID. Many hope the pending TRID 2.0 rulemaking expected from the CFPB this July will clarify and resolve the exasperating ambiguity and at least let industry participants and investors know exactly where they stand and what risks they are taking on. One of the most important areas for investors is contractual liability. “Under most mortgage loan purchase agreements, there is a representation and warranty for absolute compliance [or] a signed agreement saying that you’re only liable for material violations,” said Richard Horn, a Washington, DC, attorney. Speaking at this week’s American Bankers Association conference, the former CFPB official said, “But whatever the agreement, you still have contractual liability for the loans that you sell, so keep that in mind.” Civil liability is...

Late this week we were hearing reports about one mortgage cooperative that was trying to strike a deal with one of the GSEs regarding pricing breaks for its members...

The issuance of three non-agency mortgage-backed securities in quick succession suggests that industry participants have adjusted to liability posed by the Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act disclosure rule. Jumbo MBS from JPMorgan Chase and Redwood Trust along with a nonprime MBS from Lone Star Funds all included mortgages subject to TRID and loans with TRID exceptions. TRID was seen as a major impediment to non-agency MBS issuance ...

The first report from the National Mortgage Database offers some details on borrowers with large loans beyond the data included in the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The NMDB includes information from surveys administered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The federal regulators survey about 6,000 new borrowers on a quarterly basis, accounting for about 0.4 percent of the population of new mortgage originations ...

FHA lenders will face stiffer maximum monetary penalties later this year for various violations of agency rules and regulations. The higher monetary penalties are the result of legislation signed into law late last year requiring federal agencies to adjust the current maximum penalty amounts for inflation in order to maintain their deterrent effect. Specifically, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 (2015 Act) requires federal agencies to adjust the level of civil monetary penalties with an initial “catch-up” adjustment through an interim final rule and subsequent annual adjustments for inflation. The interim final rules with the initial penalty adjustments must be published by July 1, 2016. The new penalty levels must take effect no later than Aug. 1, 2016. Additionally, agencies are required to make annual inflation adjustments, starting Jan. 15, 2017, and for each year going forward. The adjustments will ...

An FHA price reduction remains a possibility but its impact is likely to be limited, according to analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. While some industry observers might think another mortgage insurance premium cut is inevitable, there is no broad pressure from any group or coalition that would compel FHA to do so, said KBW analysts Bose George and Chas Tyson, both panelists at KBW’s Mortgage Finance Conference recently. Given last year’s 50-basis-point cut, the FHA’s ability to cut rates meaningfully is somewhat limited, they said. The FHA annual MIP is currently 80 to/or 85 bps, down from the pre-reduction premium of 130 to/or 135 bps and higher compared to the average annual premium of 50 to/or 55 bps before the financial crisis. If FHA decides to reduce the premium again, George and Tyson believe the floor will likely be at the pre-crisis premium level, which would suggest a ...

Ginnie Mae securitization of rural home loans got off to a wobbly start in the first quarter of 2016 as securitization volume fell 13.8 percent from the prior quarter, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie data. Approximately $3.9 billion in loans with a USDA guarantee were securitized during the first three months, with the top five issuers accounting for $2.1 billion of mortgage-backed securities produced by the segment during the period. USDA securitization volume dropped 9.2 percent year over year. Top USDA issuer Chase Home Finance accounted for $1.2 billion of securitized rural housing loans, while PennyMac, in distant second place, finished the quarter with $378.5 million. Wells Fargo ($294.0 million), Pacific Union Financial ($122.8 million) and Amerihome Mortgage ($102.2 million), in sequential order, comprised the rest of the top five issuers. Pacific Union climbed over ...

A new California law requiring condominium homeowner associations to disclose to their members whether the VA or the FHA has certified their buildings will soon take effect.Starting July 1, 2016, California HOAs will have to disclose in their annual budget report whether or not their condominium projects have been approved for VA or FHA financing. Gov. Jerry Brown, D, signed Assembly Bill 596 into law in August last year to encourage more veterans and first-time homebuyers to purchase condominiums and take advantage of the benefits of government-backed home financing. In signing the measure into law, Brown expressed hopes that condominium HOAs will step up their certification or recertification process. Assemblyman Tom Daly, D-Anaheim, author of the bill, estimates there are 28,000 condo projects in the Golden State, and only a third are FHA-certified. There are far fewer projects that are ...