Seller repurchases of defective loans dropped to the second-lowest total on record, but Freddie repurchases remained significantly higher than Fannie's. The volume of unresolved claims was up from the fourth quarter.
The top five lenders had combined first-quarter production that was nearly even with the previous period, mostly because of substantially higher originations at Quicken and United Wholesale.
Two of the top nonbanks had remarkable starts to the year. Second-ranked Quicken Loans posted a 13.6% increase in production from the fourth quarter and third-ranked United Wholesale Mortgage upped its volume by a stunning 63.1%.
Correspondent production remained the biggest source of FHA and VA loans, but the rapid growth at United Wholesale Mortgage is reshaping channel dynamics.
The expanded credit sector (which includes non-QM lending) shows promise but accounted for just 2.8% of total residential MBS issued in the first quarter, according to Inside MBS & ABS.
Ginnie Mae and Freddie Mac both posted strong gains in REMIC issuance during the first quarter. Wells Fargo Securities was the top underwriter of these deals.