We continue to hear reports about a new player in the warehouse lending space that is offering attractive borrowing rates that appear too good to be true.

At First Tennessee Bank, for example, its commitments were flat from the second to the third quarter, but average outstandings increased by 13 percent to $861 million.

Warehouse lenders increased the dollar volume of their commitments to an estimated $31 billion in the third quarter, a 3.3 percent sequential improvement, according to survey figures compiled byInside Mortgage Finance. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, commitments fell by 11.4 percent. But a commitment to lend is just that. Many nonbank borrowers rack up commitments, but the real test of the health of warehouse lending is in usage rates. At First Tennessee Bank, for example, its commitments were...[Includes one data chart]

We’ve heard scattered reports about a new nonbank warehouse provider that is offering extremely cheap financing while asking for large fee payments upfront...

Another positive for the production market is a new willingness on the part of certain warehouse banks to finance the production of non-QM loans.

Ginnie Mae this week provided new details to the long-anticipated plan for increased issuer net worth and liquidity and a new performance scoring method for issuer activity – changes that could adversely affect small issuers and portfolio servicers. In remarks at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer said the changes are part of a larger effort to ensure the continuing flexibility and availability of the agency’s mortgage-backed securities program to as many entities as possible. New types of issuers and counterparties have entered the agency-backed MBS market in the wake of the financial crisis, which called for adjustments and tailored approaches to the evolving housing finance market, Tozer noted. Tozer said both policy changes and staff expertise will ensure the success of ...

Along with the news of a larger repo facility, some executive changes have occurred as well.

There have been some reports – unconfirmed – that some Wall Street firms are considering extending “repo” lines to non-QM funders, but that hasn’t happened yet.

The market for non-agency MBS backed by nonperforming and re-performing home loans has grown exponentially in recent years. However, the sector remains relatively small and regulatory concerns persist regarding servicing practices. At the ABS East conference produced by Information Management Network last week in Miami Beach, Susan Valenti, a director at Wells Fargo Securities, said $1.0 billion of non-agency MBS backed by nonperforming loans and re-performing loans was issued in 2011, followed by $2.0 billion of such issuance in 2012, $5.7 billion in issuance in 2013 and $5.2 billion in issuance thus far in 2014. Most of the deals aren’t...

Wells and JPMorgan Chase are no longer the dominant forces they once were in warehouse lending, ceding market share to more nimble bankers...