The combined portfolio of the top five servicers actually declined slightly during the third quarter. Megabanks Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America shed a combined $26.8 billion during the third quarter, with $20.0 billion of that taking place at Wells. Mr. Cooper Group, the largest nonbank servicer, reported a slight $2.5 billion drop, although its subservicing portfolio grew 2.8% to $310.5 billion.
Seller repurchases of Fannie/Freddie loans rose 17% from the first to the second quarter, with 82% of them related to loans securitized in 2018 and 2019.
DBRS and Fitch were the top rating services in non-agency MBS mostly because they cover a lot of scratch-and-dent transactions. S&P excels in nonprime, Moody's in jumbo.
The FHA/VA market continued to lean more heavily on third-party loan producers in 2018, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities data. [Includes four data charts.]
Nonbanks were the top buyers and sellers of bulk mortgage servicing portfolios last year, according to a tally from affiliate publication Inside Mortgage Trends. [Includes one data chart.]
Industry observers are warily eying the potential impact of a bill unveiled last week by a senior House Republican that aims to encourage private capital into the residential mortgage secondary market without the need for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The Private Mortgage Market Investment Act, drafted by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ, would create a heavily regulated mortgage-backed securities market made up solely of private entities that would function with no federal guarantee at all. Garrett, who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, said his proposal will...