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Inside MBS & ABS

June 12, 2015

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Bipartisan Group of Senators Press FHFA for Clearer Roadmap of GSE Risk Transfers, More Transparency

The Federal Housing Finance Agency needs to be more forthright about its plans to expand the credit-risk transfer activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. In a letter sent to FHFA Director Mel Watt this week, the six senators said the agency’s public guidance on the program “lacks specificity, metrics and long-term direction.” Watt and other FHFA officials have talked about risk transfers by the two government-sponsored enterprises, but most of the description of the program is somewhat vaguely outlined in the agency’s strategic plan and the so-called 2015 scorecard. The bipartisan group, which includes Sens. Mark Warner, D-VA, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, urged... Read More

Prepayment Risk on MBS Appears to Be Declining with Higher Interest Rates, Burnout from FHA Premium Cut

A large decline in interest rates in the past year created millions of refinance opportunities for lenders, according to industry analysts. However, prepayment risk on MBS backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae appears to be decreasing as interest rates increase. As of the end of April, 7.0 million borrowers were likely to both qualify for and benefit from refinancing, according to Black Knight Financial Services. That was up from 4.5 million potential refi borrowers a year ago as interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined by 70 basis points in that time, according to Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. “This is...[Includes one data table] Read More

Mortgage Securitization Rate Remains Soft in Early 2015; MBS Get Slightly Bigger Share of Jumbos

Securitization rates for newly originated home mortgages remained at historically low levels during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market analysis. The ratio of new MBS issuance to primary-market mortgage originations was just 71.6 percent during the first quarter. That’s down from 75.4 percent for all of last year and the record high of 88.8 percent back in 2009. The slowdown in securitization rates is...[Includes one data table] Read More

Rating Services Prepare to Comply with New Disclosure Requirements from the SEC

Beginning June 15, rating services involved in MBS and ABS will be subject to increased disclosure standards from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rating services expect to make a number of changes to comply with the final rule that was issued last August, with some concerns about the usefulness of the increased disclosures. The SEC is requiring nationally recognized statistical rating organizations to disclose rating histories, make changes to rating methodologies and disclose details on findings by third-party due diligence providers, among other issues. Moody’s Investors Service noted... Read More

Can MBS Prices Get Much Lower? The ‘Illiquidity Issue’ Is Raised Again

The average bid on the benchmark Fannie Mae 30-year 3.50 percent MBS fell to 102.2 this week compared to 104.5 earlier in the month, leaving some market watchers feeling sick to their stomachs. The general fear is that MBS prices may fall further over the short term as interest rates rise. The question for many boils down to the basics: Where will mortgages settle? As Inside MBS & ABS went to press this week, the yield on the 10-year Treasury reached... Read More

Angel Oaks’ Plan to Securitize Nonprime Mortgages Appears to Be on Hold; Whole Loan Sales Instead?

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions was hoping to make a big splash this year by being the first lender to securitize newly originated nonprime mortgages since the housing bust. It now appears those plans are on hold. According to officials who said they have been briefed on the situation, the Atlanta-based Angel Oak is now shopping around a roughly $100 million package of nonprime loans, many of which were originated over the past year. One investor said... Read More

Private Student Loans Turn in Healthy Performance In First Quarter, With Continued Growth Expected

There is good news for investors in private student-loan ABS these days, according to the latest market intelligence from industry analysts. Student loan performance was healthy in the first quarter, and more growth is expected going forward. Continued strong performance trends were seen in repayment, delinquencies and charge-offs for private student loans through March 31, 2015, according to the semi-annual private student-loan performance report from MeasureOne, which was released earlier this week. Among the key findings, year-over-year delinquencies continued... Read More

Court Departs from Long-Held Federal Preemption for Nonbanks, Prompting Concern in Securitization Industry

Securitization industry participants are concerned about a recent ruling in a federal appeals court that overturned longstanding preemption certain nonbanks have enjoyed from state laws, including standards for debt collection. The ruling in late May by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Madden v. Midland Funding could pose “significant implications for the securitization industry,” according to the Structured Finance Industry Group. The case involves... Read More

Court Splits R&W Liability between JPMorgan and WaMu; PwC’s Bid for Docs in Colonial Case Denied

JPMorgan Chase recently won in a long-running lawsuit with Deutsche Bank, limiting potential liabilities it inherited from purchasing the embattled Washington Mutual in 2008 at the behest of federal banking regulators. U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer in Washington, DC, ordered that liabilities for representation-and-warranty breaches be split between JPMorgan and WaMu Mortgage Securities Corp. The judge decided that JPMorgan would be liable only to the extent that the liabilities were on WaMu’s books as of Sept. 25, 2008. The remaining liabilities would remain at WaMu. Only a short order was released... Read More

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