Some $470 million of expanded-credit mortgages originated by AmWest Funding were securitized in the first quarter. (Includes three data charts.)

The real estate investment trust also plans to acquire business-purpose loan originator Lima One.

Non-QM impairments decline; non-agency forbearance rate improves; non-agency reverse mortgage lender settles with CFPB; Redwood paying for its employees’ MI; PCMA partners with various advisors.

Goldman Sachs Mortgage Company has acquired more than $800 million of non-QMs this year and is set to issue a $291 million MBS.

Prime non-agency MBS issuance continued to flow in April, helped by some new players. Expanded-credit activity has been limited recently, with a downturn in demand.

Non-agency originations of higher-priced mortgages declined by 35% on an annual basis in 2020. The higher-priced designation is a proxy federal regulators use for subprime mortgages. (Includes two data charts.)

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.

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.