Freddie had one of its busiest quarters ever in issuance of new STACR credit-risk transfer securities in the first quarter of 2021. Fannie remained out of the market. (Includes data chart.)

Freddie Mac’s first-quarter earnings report indicates the heady days of 2020 have continued into the new year.

JPMorgan Chase Bank’s third risk-sharing deal involving auto ABS is based on a reference pool of loans with an unpaid principal balance of $3.98 billion. The loans will remain on the bank’s books.

CRT investors now have a new investment opportunity: securities backed by warehouse lines of credit. The beginning of something big?

Institutional investors have yet to shy away from nonbank debt deals, which is good news for mortgage bankers tapping the capital markets.

In late 2020, Fannie came back into credit-risk transfers with a bespoke deal with one of its largest nonbank sellers. Freddie continued full speed ahead with more traditional STACR issuance. (Includes data chart.)

Due to COVID-related forbearances, Freddie faced a $2.2 billion increase in its provisions for losses in 2020. However, that expense was more than offset by an across the board increase in revenues.

The latest transaction is an actual loss deal issued through a trust; previous Multifamily Structured Credit Risk deals were structured as fixed-severity deals issued as corporate debt.

The deal bears many of the characteristics of previous front-end credit-risk transfer deals that PennyMac entered into with Fannie Mae.

Whether its warehouse borrowing or debt restructuring, the capital markets remain a favorable place to be for nonbank lender/servicers.