A sharp increase in business-finance ABS issuance offset declines in other sectors to lift overall ABS production during the second quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. The market produced $59.31 billion of new non-mortgage ABS during the second quarter, an 11.1 percent increase over the first three months of the year. That brought year-to-date issuance up to $112.68 billion, a 30.4 percent gain over the first six months of 2016. The star performer was...[Includes two data tables]

An internal watchdog audit alleges that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been auctioning distressed notes to investors with no formal guidance or procedures in place. In a recent audit report, the HUD Office of the Inspector General said the department did not conduct rulemaking or develop standards for its single-family note sales program. The IG said it performed the audit due to the large amount of FHA claims paid on note sales as well as public concerns over the creation and administration of the program. In addition, the IG has never audited the program. In 2002, HUD referred to the initial note sales program as the Accelerated Claims Disposition Demonstration Program. The department later renamed it the Loan Sales Program, and subsequently to its current name: Distressed Asset Stabilization Program. DASP accepts assignment of eligible, defaulted single-family mortgage loans in ...

ABS investors could see strong returns by employing the “Moneyball” strategy pioneered in Major League Baseball by the Oakland Athletics, according to analysts at Wells Fargo Securities. The strategy, detailed in a book and movie, focuses on certain statistics that managers of the Athletics thought were undervalued by other teams. Wells said the theory can be adapted to the ABS market, with an emphasis on deals that can reliably hit “singles” instead of potentially risky investments that aim for home runs. “With interest rates low and ABS spreads reasonably tight, many market participants are...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to continue collecting information considered crucial in approving certain lender requests to close VA loans automatically. Currently, non-supervised VA lenders requesting approval to close VA loans on an automatic basis use VA Form 26-8736 to submit the information needed for VA approval. Upon receiving the form, the appropriate VA regional loan center processes and evaluates the information. Without the required data, VA would not be able to determine if a non-supervised lender is qualified for automatic loan processing. The required data include, among other things, a resume of each principal officer’s experience in mortgage lending in a managerial capacity and the latest financial statements audited and certified by a certified public accountant. The form also requires a listing of all ...

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...

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 ...

Commercial banks and thrifts continued to have modest interest in holding non-mortgage ABS during the first quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. The banking industry held $123.43 billion of ABS in its held-to-maturity and available-for-sale investment portfolios at the end of March. That was down 0.3 percent from December. The overall supply of ABS outstanding, excluding collateralized debt obligations, fell...[Includes two data tables]

There are signs of trouble ahead for the subprime auto ABS sector that warrant closer attention to the financial health of that class of borrowers, but it looks like the rising risk is contained, according to some research reports published this week by a pair of Wall Street analysts. In one of the reports, Wells Fargo Securities analysts John McElravey and Ryan Brinkoetter warned of the implications for the fiscal soundness of the borrowers involved. They reviewed the total and voluntary prepayment rates of the major subprime auto ABS issuers, and calculated the average prepayment curves by deal age for issuer and vintage over the 2013-2016 time period. “Much of the analytical focus in auto ABS has been...

President Trump’s tax plan would raise the federal debt, but could benefit residential MBS, consumer ABS and asset-backed commercial paper, depending mostly on the effect on the underlying obligors’ after-tax income, according to a recent research report from Moody’s Investors Service. “The administration’s blueprint proposes a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent, which would also apply to partnerships and other ‘pass-through’ businesses that are currently taxed through their principals’ individual returns,” analysts explained. The White House plan also features...

Fannie Mae late last month loosened its underwriting guidelines for borrowers with student loan and other types of debt, and is currently working on pilot programs aimed at helping consumers amass a downpayment. In an interview with Inside MBS & ABS this week, Fannie Vice President of Product Development and Affordable Housing Jonathan Lawless said the government-sponsored enterprise has “more to come” on loosening guidelines. Although he could not provide much in the way of detail, he said...