The biggest asset categories, consumer finance and credit cards, saw declines in bank investment during the fourth quarter, but the industry added ABS backed by auto loans, business finance notes and leases.
For the second year in a row, first-time buyers accounted for over half of agency purchase-mortgage business. Despite a substantial dip in the fourth quarter, overall purchase originations in 2019 hit their highest level in more than a decade.
The biggest gain in bank MBS investment over the past year was in agency pass-throughs, up 11.4% from December 2018, although holdings of non-agency securities also climbed 7.4%. (Includes two data charts.)
Arch Mortgage Insurance retained its ranking as the top private MI in the business, but several of its competitors gained market share in 2019. (Includes two data charts.)
But there were some hiccups in the overall trend. For starters, refi loans originated in the retail channel actually had slightly lower average credit scores than correspondent- and broker-originated refinances…
GSE single-family MBS issuance fell 1.6% from December 2019 to January 2020, but production was double its volume of a year ago. (Includes two data charts.)