Clayton Holdings was the first firm to receive an assessment from rating services as a deal agent…

Groups backing the five-member commission idea include the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Consumer Mortgage Coalition and the Community Mortgage Lenders of America, among others.

Issuance volumes in various MBS and ABS sectors are generally below pre-crisis levels and liquidity in the markets is adequate, according to an analysis by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. But the structured finance sector hasn’t flourished as the corporate bond market has in recent years, according to FINRA. The non-governmental regulator of broker-dealers based its analysis in part on data collected by its Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine, which tracks trades in a variety of asset classes. The analysis was completed by FINRA’s Office of the Chief Economist. “Market liquidity [for MBS and ABS] seems...[Includes one data table]

Investors in nonprime MBS may be more vulnerable to fraudulent or defective mortgages compared to prime transactions because of deficiencies or inadequacies in the related representation-and-warranties frameworks, according to a new report from analysts at Moody’s Investors Service. “The collateral backing these transactions is riskier than the loans in post-crisis prime jumbo RMBS, which also generally use stronger frameworks,” the report said. For starters, “Transactions in the re-emerging non-prime RMBS sector are...

Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, suggested the widespread view that Congress won’t get around to resolving the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be too pessimistic. Speaking at a Mortgage Bankers Association conference in Washington, DC, this week, Warner said, “This may surprise some folks, but I think the stars may align where you could actually see housing-finance reform happen in front of some of the Dodd-Frank reform.” Warner, who co-authored a reform bill four years ago, said...

Marketplace lender Social Finance – a mortgage originator with a track record in securitizing consumer and student loans – has filed for a state bank charter in Utah and is also pondering selling stock to the public. For now, the privately held technology-centric firm isn’t saying much about its plans, including the initial public offering. One source familiar with the company’s mortgage operation said SoFi recently hired one executive away from a larger player by dangling the IPO and stock options. To date, there has been...

A Connecticut jury has found a former securities trader guilty and acquitted a second trader in an MBS fraud case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission two years ago. A conspiracy charge against a third Nomura trader was unresolved. Although multiple charges were brought against the former traders – Michael Gramins, Ross Shapiro and Tyler Peters – only Gramins was found guilty of conspiracy, according to an analysis by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas of Houston. All three defendants were...

The Treasury Department last week released a report that called for regulatory reforms aimed to help boost non-agency originations and market share. Many of the reforms relating to the non-agency market could be completed without action from Congress. However, most of them are overseen by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Treasury’s recommendations appear unlikely to be enacted as long as Richard Cordray is director of the CFPB. Treasury sought input ...

Originations of interest-only mortgages by a group of top lenders declined in the first quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. A group of 12 prominent IO lenders originated $6.81 billion of the loans in the first quarter of 2017. The lenders’ production was down by 26.7 percent from the previous quarter and down by 19.9 percent from the first quarter of 2016. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, total first-lien originations ... [Includes one data chart]

The nonprime mortgage-backed security issued by Deephaven Mortgage earlier this month was largely similar to a deal the firm issued in April, save for a greater emphasis on mortgages underwritten with less than full documentation. So-called alternative documentation mortgages accounted for 36.5 percent of the $250.13 million MBS Deephaven issued this month, up from a 17.7 percent share of its $221.14 million issuance in April. Non-agency lenders underwriting mortgages ...