An effort by big banks to prop up First Republic Bank triggered downgrades by rating services and only temporarily paused the decline in the bank’s share price. The bank is considering various strategic options.

Holdings of first-lien mortgages at banks and thrifts increased by nearly 10% in 2022. First Republic Bank stood out with a nearly 30% increase. (Includes data chart.)

Among a group of 20 prominent nonprime servicers, portfolio balances increased by 0.3% during the fourth quarter of 2022. Prepayment rates on non-QMs are low and delinquencies are rising.

Jumbo servicing portfolios at many of the largest firms in the sector increased in both the fourth quarter and on an annual basis. Low prepayment rates helped to keep loans in portfolio. (Includes data chart.)

Efforts by the MBA and other industry participants to get the California Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling failed near the end of December. Servicers in the state are now limited on the amount default interest they can charge.

Depositories grew their first-lien portfolios during the third quarter. JPMorgan was the only bank among the top 10 to report a sequential decline. (Includes data chart.)

Nonprime servicing portfolios increased by 1.7% in the third quarter and 7.5% year-over-year. Only three of the top-10 players in the sector saw volumes decline from the second to the third quarter. (Includes data chart.

Distressed borrowers with subprime mortgages in states with a judicial foreclosure process achieve non-foreclosure outcomes at a higher rate than similar borrowers in states that don’t have a such a process, according to findings from a new paper.

Banks and thrifts added a significant amount of first liens, with a focus on adjustable-rate mortgages, to their portfolios in the second quarter. Overall, holdings increased by 4.2% between March and June. (Includes data chart.)

After aggregating mortgages from some of the largest players in the non-agency market, Pacific Western Bank is looking to sell risk on the loans that have a total unpaid principal balance of $2.68 billion.