Falling interest rates produced a record increase in new originations and soaring production revenue in the second quarter, but MSR hedging results offset much of the gain.

A large bank merger and Wells Fargo’s move to unload Ginnie Mae servicing played key roles in the surge of bulk MSR transfers during the second quarter.

Although MBS issuance was strong in the second quarter, ABS deals were less robust...

Vehicle-finance deals remained the backbone of ABS production in the first half of 2019, but transactions backed by consumer loans are a faster-growing segment.

Lenders of all shapes and sizes reported eye-popping increases in production volume from the first to the second quarter of 2019. At the midway point, this year was running 11.5% ahead of the pace in the first half of 2018.

Which top-10 home lender had the largest sequential gain in 2Q19? Quicken? UWM? Guess again. It was Freedom Mortgage with 81.9%.

Most of the increase in FHA/VA delinquencies came in early-stage defaults as the share of loans over 90 days late declined. The Ginnie servicing market grew 1.4% in the second quarter.

Even with a weakened S&D market, FirstKey Mortgage was the top issuer of non-agency MBS at the midway point in 2019.

The biggest chunk of the insured market was loans with private MI coverage: $78.32 billion in the second quarter, a 49.3% increase from the previous period. That broadened the private MI footprint to 42.0% of the insured agency market, up from its relatively low 41.7% share in the first quarter.

Non-agency MBS backed by seasoned collateral, mostly nonperforming and re-performing loans, accounted for 54.3% of new issuance in the second quarter. Securitization of newly originated loans slipped 13.5% from the previous period.