The average daily trading volume in agency MBS fell to $195.0 billion in August, the second weakest reading of the year, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. The peak came the month before at $219.3 billion, and the low was back in March at $189.4 billion, not too far from the August volume. It’s...

Regulations and practices in the mortgage market will help protect investors in MBS backed by residential mortgages from marketplace lenders, according to Moody’s Investors Service. However, it’s not clear if the protections will be enough to offset the rating penalties often applied to originators and assets that lack historical performance records. Moody’s published its analysis last week, noting that while no residential MBS has been issued by a marketplace lender as yet, the firm expects issuance at some point. Marketplace lenders – the most prominent of which is Social Finance – connect...

Individual investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock lost separate legal battles to inspect the corporate records of Freddie and prove that the Treasury sweep of the government-sponsored enterprises’ profits is damaging and unjust. In the case of Arnetia Joyce Robinson v. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, et al., the shareholder plaintiff argued that her investments were materially damaged when FHFA and the Treasury Department implemented the net worth sweep back in 2012. Robinson argued...

Investors in auto loan ABS may need to buckle up. Both prime and subprime auto loan ABS have weakened month-over-month and year-over-year, according to S&P Global Ratings. “Collateral performance in the U.S. prime auto loan ABS sector was weaker in July, with net losses and 60-plus-day delinquencies increasing month-over-month, while recovery rates decreased,” the S&P analysts said. “Collateral performance for the subprime sector deteriorated...

A GSE investor in Kentucky lost her case last week when the court dismissed claims that the government damaged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by implementing the net worth sweep of the GSEs’ profits. Arnetia Robinson alleged that her investments in Fannie and Freddie were “materially damaged” when the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department amended the existing preferred stock purchase agreement in 2012. According to court records, Robinson was seeking declaratory and injunctive relief that would prevent enforcement of portions of the PSPA. She contended that the sweep violates the Housing and Economic Recovery Act and said the Treasury acted “arbitrarily and capriciously.”

An increase in interest rates will help boost originations of non-agency nonprime mortgages, according to panelists at a webinar hosted by Inside Mortgage Finance this week. Higher interest rates will make it less attractive for prime borrowers to refinance, which could force lenders to look for volume elsewhere, including the nonprime market. Purchase mortgages account for a large share of the nonprime loans originated in recent years and higher interest rates could also increase nonprime mortgages aimed at debt consolidation. Matthew Nichols, CEO of Deephaven Mortgage, said...

The House Financial Services Committee this week marked up, mostly on party lines, a comprehensive alternative to the Dodd-Frank Act that would, among other things, create a legal safe harbor for mortgage loans that are originated by a lender and then held in portfolio on its balance sheet. Democrats unanimously opposed the bill and refused to offer a single amendment, continually railing against Wells Fargo and accusing the Republicans of wanting to take the nation “back to the regulatory Stone Age.” The bill passed...

Although single-women borrowers are more likely to pay their mortgages on time than single-male borrowers, they tend to pay higher mortgage rates and are more often denied credit. Those findings come from a new Urban Institute study that merged Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for 2004-2014 with CoreLogic data on loan performance. A combination of a male and female borrower (usually in that order) accounted...

Lone Star Funds is preparing to issue a $216.97 million MBS backed by newly originated nonprime mortgages, according to presale reports published this week. The deal will help the market for new nonprime MBS outpace issuance of jumbo MBS, at least momentarily. Last month, Deephaven Mortgage issued a $154.33 million MBS backed by new nonprime mortgages and Angel Oak Capital Advisors issued a $132.65 million MBS, neither of which received credit ratings. Lone Star’s COLT 2016-2 is scheduled to close next week. Two jumbo MBS were issued...

After a difficult year so far, sales of mortgage servicing rights are beginning to pick up a head of steam this fall with the hope that the fourth quarter could turn out be a barn-burner. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance this week, servicing advisors for the most part are feeling mildly optimistic about the final three months of the year, although they all admit the obvious: an unexpected drop in rates could spoil the party. But that may not...