A sharp decline in refinance and restructuring activity helped drive issuance of U.S. CLO sharply lower in the first quarter. Volume was up, however, in CRE deals. (Includes two data charts.)

Among the top 10 funders, the declines were mostly brutal, ranging from a low of -21.1% to a high of -37.2%.

Industry economists expect home lending to deteriorate through the rest of 2022 as gains in purchase-mortgage lending fail to offset the meltdown in refinance activity. (Includes two data charts.)

The biggest decline in bulk transfers was in the Ginnie market, where volume plummeted 27.9%...

Bulk MSR transfers were down in the first quarter, with a number of pending deals yet to close. Coissuance saw a boost in its share of agency securitization. (Includes three data charts.)

The two biggest asset classes in the ABS market – vehicles and business finance — accounted for most of the first-quarter surge.

The two biggest sectors in the ABS market — vehicle loans and business finance — saw solid gains in issuance in early 2022. GM Financial was the top issuer; Barclays Capital was the top underwriter. (Includes two data charts.)

The FHA saw a steep 21.1% decline in volume, while the VA posted an 18.4% decline from the fourth quarter...

The sharp drop in agency refinance business in the first quarter hit FHA and VA hard but had less of an impact on the private MI market. UWM was the top private MI customer. (Includes three data charts.)

Prime non-agency MBS issuance fell 16.3% in the first quarter to $20.87 billion.