New issuance of rated non-agency MBS was up strongly from the first to the second quarter and all five rating services upped new business. But new issuance of rated ABS was down slightly, and competition intensified. (Includes two data charts.)

Most top home-equity lenders reported increased production levels in the second quarter. But retained portfolios of HELOCs and closed-end seconds continued to shrink. (Includes three data charts.)

One institution, USAA Federal Savings Bank, accounted for most of the decline.

Retail, correspondent and wholesale lending declined in the conventional-conforming and government-insured markets in the second quarter and increased in the jumbo sector.

Some $20 billion of GSE-eligible mortgages are on track to flow into non-agency MBS this year.

It doesn’t happen often (the last time was more than 15 years ago), but Freddie bested Fannie in single-family MBS issuance in August. Freddie saw big gains in multi-lender swap and guarantor business. (Includes two data charts.)

United Wholesale ranked as the top conventional-conforming lender thanks to its dominant wholesale-broker platform. The company made a splash in the surging jumbo sector. (Includes two data charts.)

A sharp drop in bank mortgage repurchases from the first to the second quarter was due mostly to one institution: USAA Federal Savings Bank. (Includes data chart.)

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae all securitized a higher proportion of loans in their respective markets during the second quarter, but non-agency securitization rates benefited more from a surge in new lending. (Includes data chart.)

Jumbo lending is catching on with nonbanks, which are providing most of the collateral for non-agency prime jumbo securitizations.