Issuance of non-agency MBS increased by 84% on a sequential basis in the first quarter of 2021. Chase accounted for nearly a third of all issuance. (Includes data chart.)

An effort by the CFPB to delay the end of the QM patch is causing uncertainty for non-agency lenders. A coalition of lenders and consumer advocates said the CFPB shouldn’t move forward with the proposal.

The impairment rate on securitized non-QMs hit 11.1% at the end of February. At the end of 2020, the rate stood at 10.3% after months of steady improvement.

AIG is set to issue a jumbo MBS with new production and MFA Financial has a non-QM deal with loans that have seasoned for 16 months. A surge of issuance also looks likely later this month.

A group of 15 lenders tracked by this publication increased production of IOs in 2020. Many of them are banks that are able to keep the loans in portfolio. (Includes data chart.)

The margins on originating non-QMs look good enough for Impac to resume production. The lender suffered a large loss in 2020, partially due to pandemic-driven volatility in the sector.

Six prime non-agency MBS with newer loans have hit the market along with two expanded-credit deals with older mortgages.

Provident drops jumbos from warehouse securitization; The Change Company hires former Angelo Gordon MD; FoAM wins bid for Benji.

Lenders can use the QM standards drafted in the waning days of the Trump administration. But there’s no certainty new leadership at the CFPB will leave them as they are.

MFA Financial made an investment in a non-QM lender, Starwood Property Trust is closing in on a similar move, and Western Asset Mortgage Capital expanded its purchase agreements.