Mortgage real estate investment trusts are expressing optimism about investment opportunities in agency MBS despite tighter spreads on credit assets, according to industry analysts at a recent mortgage finance conference in New York City. Mortgage REITs were positive on investment opportunities and believed that interest rate increases were likely to be moderate in the months ahead, said analysts with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, which hosted the conference. Industry executives, however, noted...

Product valuations are not the most appealing to agency MBS investors right now – not enough to keep them from buying, perhaps, but enough to dry up whatever enthusiasm they might have, according to a new structured finance report from analysts at Wells Fargo Securities. “The core theme in the financial markets right now seems to be ‘reluctant buying,’” the report said. Most of the spread products at this point are trading at multiyear tights. And the bloom may be off the rose when it comes to the so-called Trump trade. “Some of the optimism around fiscal policy post-election that drove risk-premiums tighter is...

A number of lawsuits involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders remain unresolved and a new one just hit the court system last week. Three shareholders filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan arguing that the court should vacate the third amendment to the preferred stock purchase agreement and declare the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency unconstitutional. The plaintiffs also asked...

Deephaven Mortgage LLC soon will issue its second securitization of nonprime mortgages of this year, a $250.1 million deal backed by a variety of loans that fall outside of the legal safe harbor for qualified-mortgage status. Presale reports from S&P Global and Kroll Bond Rating Agency indicate that 45.6 percent of the loans were acquired from Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, with the rest coming from Deephaven. Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing will service all the loans. The mortgages were originated...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is accepting comments as part of its assessment of the ability-to-repay rule. The ATR rule took effect in early 2014, setting standards for how lenders should evaluate potential borrowers. The rule also established protections for loans that meet criteria to be deemed a qualified mortgage. One of the more controversial provisions the CFPB included when setting QM standards was...

Lenders planning to originate non-qualified mortgages have many sources to find potential borrowers, according to officials at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions. AOMS focuses its business on non-QM originations via the correspondent and wholesale channels. Tom Hutchens, a senior vice president of sales and marketing at Angel Oak, has detailed the ways loan officers can find non-QM borrowers in a series of webinars. He suggests...

An industry trade group is requesting that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exclude reverse mortgages from the income-reporting requirement of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association is seeking an exemption similar to the HMDA exemptions for rate spread; Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act status; origination charges; discount points; lender credits; total loan costs; points and fees; prepayment penalty term; and balloon payments. However, should the CFPB require income reporting on reverse mortgages, the NRMLA would want further guidance and clarification. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans make up over 99 percent of the reverse mortgage market today, and have not dropped below 85 percent since 1993, according to the group. NRMLA’s request is part of a broader comment on ...

Four financial regulatory agencies recently recommended that appraisers get temporary practice permits and waivers when moving to another state in order to help alleviate the shortage of appraisers, especially in rural areas. The Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the National Credit Union Administration are concerned that the limited number of state-certified and licensed appraisers is slowing down appraisal turnaround times. They suggest that when an appraiser moves to another state, that the new state regulator recognize the certification or license issued by another state on a temporary basis for federally related transactions. The banking regulators also recommend...

Mortgage lenders say they need another year, at least, to prepare for all the new requirements they will confront under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s revised Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule. One of the biggest problems is that the industry is waiting for multiple actions to be completed by the bureau before it can fully implement the new changes and test compliance systems, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a comment letter filed with the CFPB last week. Back in April, the bureau proposed...

Federal banking regulators this week took action against two mortgage lenders for failing to enforce flood insurance requirements on properties in flood-prone areas. Separately, House lawmakers mulled over draft Republican legislation to reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced it slapped Colonial Savings Bank with an $87,500 penalty for violation of the Federal Disaster Protection Act of 1973. The FDPA requires...