Most of the decline in bank MSR activity in the first quarter was attributable to Wells Fargo, while Flagstar accounted for a big chunk of the increase among savings institutions.
Subservicing vendors continued to grow during the first quarter but a few firms saw a reduction in contracts. Cenlar remained the dominant player but Mr. Cooper, Flagstar and Ocwen are eager to compete. Meanwhile, consolidation looms.
Some of the sharp drop in non-agency jumbo securitization resulted from higher loan limits, but volume was buoyed by a large pool of seasoned loans sold to Freddie Mac.
The warehouse lending sector rises and falls depending on the origination volume of nonbank mortgage providers. The first quarter of 2019 yielded a 4.1% drop in loan production but warehouse commitments increased by 4.4%. Now, with rates headed lower, better days are ahead. But will it last?
We're halfway through the second quarter and MSR sales are middling, a byproduct of lower interest rates and what may lie ahead. However, dealmakers believe 2H could bring a boom in sales activity.
Conventional-conforming lending still accounted for over half of first-lien originations in early 2019, but the sector also saw the biggest rate of decline from the previous period. Booming refi business helped the jumbo market.
New primary mortgage insurance activity was down in the first quarter of 2019, but FHA and VA managed to expand their share of the market thanks to surging refinance business. Private MIs started the year slightly ahead of the pace in early 2018.
A handful of top lenders posted significant gains in production volume in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the previous period. But many more shops saw double-digit declines in first-lien mortgage lending.
Mortgage originators licensed by state regulators produced fewer loans in 2018 than they had in the previous year but still took more market share away from depositories. A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of call-report data from banks, credit unions and the National Multistate Licensing System found that state-licensed nonbanks accounted for 54.8% of mortgage originations last year. That was up 1.8 percentage points from 2017. [Includes two data charts.]
Home mortgages that fail one of the basic tests to be classified as a qualified mortgage have become an increasingly large part of the agency market over the past few years, a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis reveals. [Includes one data chart.]
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