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Inside Nonconforming Markets

May 28, 2010

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Financial Reform Bars Mortgage Lending Practices That Fueled Non-Prime Boom

Federal financial reform legislation on track to become law this summer will hinder or prohibit many of the practices that helped the non-prime market thrive earlier this decade. The House and Senate started the process to reconcile financial reform legislation this week after the Senate approved its version of the legislation last week on a 59-to-39 vote. Each version of... Read More

Congress Likely to Ban Yield-Spread Premiums

The predominant compensation structure used in the heyday of the subprime market could be banned, depending on how Congress reconciles financial reform legislation. Meanwhile, in a boost for the mortgage industry, financial reform legislation will probably not expand the powers of state regulators. S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability... Read More

Signs of Improvement on Subprime Delinquencies

The non-seasonally adjusted serious delinquency rate on subprime mortgages decreased in the first quarter of 2010 after increasing every quarter since the beginning of 2006, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The change has prompted some analysts to claim that subprime performance will continue to improve. The total amount of subprime mortgages... [Includes one chart and one graph] Read More

Non-Prime Servicers Top HAMP Conversion Rates

Ocwen Financial Corp., HomEq Servicing and Carrington Mortgage Services had the top three permanent mod conversion rates in the Home Affordable Modification Program as of the end of April, according to the Treasury Department. The non-prime servicers all relied on verified income for trial mods long before the Treasury required the practice. Ocwen and HomEq each... [Includes one chart] Read More

Non-Agency Sector Divided on Securitization Rules

Moody’s Investors Service praised recently proposed rules for mortgage-backed security issuance while non-agency MBS investors are unhappy with the proposal. Differences remain on mandatory risk-retention and enforcement of representations and warranties, among other issues. A rule proposed this month by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. followed a proposal by the... Read More

Former Non-Prime Lenders Afloat Via Service Fees

Impac Mortgage Holdings and NovaStar Financial – two companies that discontinued non-prime originations as the market collapsed – continue to operate thanks to their legacy mortgage portfolios and new fee-generating businesses. Last week, each of the companies reported profits for the first quarter of 2010. Impac had $5.92 million in profits for the first quarter... Read More

FHFA Criticizes AAA Non-Agency MBS Purchases

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a report this week criticizing non-agency mortgage-backed security investments made by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The FHFA said the investments were a key factor leading to the federal government’s conservatorship of the government-sponsored enterprises.Even though the GSEs stopped buying non-prime MBS... Read More

News Briefs

The default rate on second mortgages was 2.49 percent in April, according to the new S&P/Experian... Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each issued a reminder to lenders this month noting that the government... More than three years after the subprime market started to unravel, the Mortgage Bankers Association... Read More

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