Late Thursday, the Senate voted to approve Mark Calabria as the permanent director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency by a vote of 53 to 44 along party lines. A few senators did not cast ballots. But don’t look for this free-market economist to quickly make radical changes to how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate. The first thing to watch is whether Calabria allows them to build more capital…Non-QM lender Citadel Servicing Corp., Irvine, CA, originated $475 million in ...

The sale of non-qualified mortgage lender and securitizer Deephaven Mortgage, Charlotte, NC, appears to be on the back burner for now, according to sources tracking the deal. “There was an auction, a bid, but it didn’t meet their price,” said one executive who claimed to have knowledge of the transaction. This source, requesting anonymity, maintains that at one point there were at least 20 different investors expressing an interest in Deephaven but it’s unclear how many had a copy of ...

It may seem counterintuitive, but MBS backed by reperforming loans, and thus not eligible to be traded in the to-be-announced market, are the ideal assets in collateralized mortgage obligation deals. According to a report from Stifel’s fixed income strategy division, the reason is simple — most modified loans are unlikely to be refinanced as they have “a unique and desirable prepayment profile.” Borrowers with modified loans have already had their rates dramatically reduced. They're unlikely to ...