More than $1 trillion of agency servicing rights changed hands in 2022. While bulk MSR transfers soared last year, the coissuance market was hammered by the sharp decline in agency business. (Includes three data charts.)
The delinquency rate on loans in agency MBS increased gradually between March and September, then spiked during the fourth quarter. (Includes data chart.)
Last year was a barn-burner for MSR sales. But so many nonbanks need to sell this year that too much supply has resulted in weaker pricing. What’s a mortgage banker to do?
Officials at the bank suggest Wells won’t take much of a hit from the loss of correspondent production. And profitability on the servicing side is expected to improve as the portfolio shrinks.
Fannie and Freddie will institute their own models for assessing the values of MSRs held by seller/servicers, even if those MSRs are for mortgages not owned or guaranteed by the GSEs.
Banks and thrifts continued to see more value in their mortgage servicing rights in the third quarter, while their portfolios increased only slightly. (Includes data chart.)
Mortgage servicing right markups have allowed several companies to report net profits this year when, absent these non-cash entries, they’d be in the red. But advisors suggest some MSR holders might be pushing the envelope on their valuations.
The bulk GSE MSR transfer market is deep and wide: Some 21 companies have sold more than $10 billion so far in 2022 and 40 others have sold at least $1 billion. Coissuance activity has declined as agency business has slowed.