Bank and thrift holdings of Ginnie Mae MBS rose 5.0% in the first quarter and investment in agency CMOs increased 3.4% from the end of 2019.

Banks and thrifts held a record $2.11 trillion of residential MBS at the end of March as the pandemic began to mushroom. JPMorgan Chase upped its MBS by $52.9 billion in the first quarter.

Traditional retail mortgage lending declined in the first quarter and correspondent production tanked. But the wholesale-broker sector, led by its flagship lender, posted a solid gain. (Includes six data charts.)

At an estimated $106 billion, wholesale-broker production represented 15.8% of first-lien originations in early 2020, the sector’s biggest share since the financial meltdown...

A year ago, IRRRL activity totaled just $1.99 billion. In the first three months of 2020, it rocketed to $42.01 billion.

Thanks largely to a revived streamlined-refi program, the VA produced a record $82.6 billion of home loan guaranties in the first quarter, extending its lead over the FHA. (Includes five data charts.)

Non-agency MBS holdings fell only $13.77 billion, but that represented a 64.9% decline.

All 17 publicly traded REITs reported double-digit declines in their MBS portfolios during the first quarter, with six institutions now with portfolios less than $1 billion. (Includes data chart.)

Heavy refinance activity pushed FHA and VA endorsements higher in the first quarter of 2020, while private MIs raised prices and braced for the impact of COVID-19. (Includes three data charts.)

Delinquencies on mortgages in agency MBS surged in April amid financial difficulties prompted by the coronavirus. Loans were performing well before the pandemic. (Includes data chart.)