Flagstar, which ranks eighth among all originators according to Inside Mortgage Finance, funded $6.4 billion of home mortgages in 4Q, a 17 percent decline from the prior period.
A key factor in the upswing in private MI share of Fannie/Freddie business was the relatively steadier volume in purchase-mortgage securitization compared to refinance loans.
The non-agency MBS market is stuck in "limbo until we know where the GSEs are going,” said Steve Abrahams, head of securitization and MBS research at Deutsche Bank Securities.
In other words, the White House still wants to dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and doesn't seem to care about all the money the two are returning to the government.
One servicing advisor told IMFnews that the regulator “now has the last word on all MSR transfer approvals. It began in December and has slowed the process a bit.”
The hunger for GSE speculation is also causing some investors to buy Fannie/Freddie common which has been rising of late, but not by much. However, one GSE watcher believes that buying the common, "is a fool’s game."
In terms of market effect, a DocuTech executive said that because of the new CFPB rules, "credit is going to slow down for a little while, maybe a month or so."
The lender also recently formed a real estate investment trust, Parkside Mortgage Trust. Matt Ostrander, Parkside’s CEO, said the REIT plans to issue a non-agency MBS later this year or in 2015.
Hoping to jump start the non-agency MBS market, the Structured Finance Industry Group plans to establish a limited number of options on various rep and warrant issues.
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