April MBS issuance volume, which reflects originations, was the lowest monthly output since March 2020, just before the Fed launched a historic surge in refi activity.

With refinance activity plummeting, lenders with concentrations of purchase loans were more likely to see their agency sales increase in April. Total agency MBS issuance fell 11% from March. (Includes two data charts.)

The nonbank share of the top 50 servicing owners edged up from 53.0% in the fourth quarter to 53.4% in early 2022.

An active secondary market in agency servicing rights helped a number of second-tier nonbanks build their owned servicing portfolios significantly in the first quarter. (Includes three data charts.)

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.