While originations included in non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed securities in recent years have been of high-quality, significant differences exist among originators, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The average credit score on mortgages included in Redwood Trust’s non-agency jumbo MBS from 2011 through the first quarter of this year was 771.2, largely driven by First Republic Bank, which accounted for 47.0 percent of originations securitized by Redwood ... [Includes two data charts]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week issued more detailed guidance to changes in the FHA Lender Insurance Program based on a final rule published in the Federal Register in January 2012. Under the LI program, high-performing direct endorsement lenders have the authority to conduct pre-endorsement reviews and endorse loans. Mortgagee Letter 2013-12 supersedes guidance HUD issued last month and provides additional details on initial and continuing eligibility for Lender Insurance. It also talks about HUD monitoring of program participants as well indemnification procedures, which were discussed in ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced plans to consolidate multifamily hubs nationwide and close a number of its smaller field offices. The plan would result in an estimated $61.9 million in annual costs savings for HUD after completion and affect approximately 900 of the department’s 9,300 employees. No employee will be laid off as a result of the restructuring, according to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. Donovan said the changes are part of a broader, long-term effort that will allow HUD to continue to deliver high-quality services by adapting modern best practices. The decision to ...

Fannie Mae’s plan to unload, potentially, billions of dollars of non-performing residential loans has been delayed and may be killed, according to industry officials who’ve been tracking the project. “It’s going nowhere, but it’s not like there’s a requirement for them to say so publicly,” said one advisor who is a vendor to Fannie. The GSE, to date, has declined to discuss the issue – along with its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Fannie has been working on an NPL sale for close to a year, and even hired an investment banker, Milestone Advisors LLC, to guide it through the auction process. Initially, it had hoped to offer a package of $250 million of delinquent home mortgages for sale to the highest bidder.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council issued a warning this week regarding the prolonged period of low interest rates, singling out real estate investment trusts that invest in agency mortgage-backed securities. “Agency REITs, a sector that how grown considerably in recent years, are highly exposed to a rise in interest rates,” said Trent Reasons, a senior policy advisor at the Treasury Department. An analysis of 16 REITs by Inside MBS & ABS, an affiliated publication, determined...

Ginnie Mae is seeking comment from Wall Street dealers on whether the agency should continue maintaining two separate MBS programs, or consolidate them and create a third Ginnie Mae security. The agency has reportedly sent questionnaires to dealers seeking their opinion on a number of options, including combining the lower volume Ginnie Mae I MBS program with the far busier Ginnie Mae II program and its likely impact on liquidity, issuance and market share. A Bloomberg report said...

Ginnie Mae is seeking feedback from dealers, issuers and investors about whether to continue to maintain two separate mortgage-backed securities programs or to consolidate them under a single security. Comments are also being sought on other possible options. Bloomberg.com recently reported that Ginnie Mae sent out questionnaires to Wall Street broker-dealers for their input on the future of both the Ginnie Mae I and Ginnie Mae II MBS programs. The agency has been considering whether it should merge the programs for some time. The Ginnie Mae I single-issuer pool program with stringent pooling requirements began in ...

Officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority met this week to consider increasing pricing transparency on fixed-income products, including publishing transaction information on private-placement ABS. Investors have called for greater pricing transparency on ABS issuance – private placements and SEC-registered deals – while issuers warn that such disclosures could increase costs or reduce their willingness to issue securities. In addition to meeting with the SEC, FINRA’s board of directors met...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is moving forward with its search to find a CEO to run the new common mortgage securitization platform that will one day be shared by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and, potentially, other issuers. But it’s anybody’s guess how much the regulator is willing to pay to get a top-flight candidate, according to industry observers. At least two individuals recently were approached about the job, according to these observers. Funding for the project will presumably come...

Issuers of non-agency MBS won two key court battles against federal agencies because the regulators’ suits to recover losses suffered by failed institutions came too late. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rejected all claims the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. brought against Countrywide Financial related to 10 MBS certificates sold to the failed Colonial Bank. “All of the FDIC’s claims are time-barred,” the court said. In FDIC v. Countrywide, the court said...