A number of underwriting characteristics for jumbo mortgages included in non-agency mortgage-backed securities shifted in the first quarter of 2014, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. And the decline in jumbo MBS activity during the quarter has prompted industry analysts to significantly reduce projections for issuance the rest of this year. Average credit scores declined, debt-to-income ratios increased and ... [Includes one data chart]

A sustained decline in GSE refinances, coupled with faltering purchase activity throughout the first quarter, helped contribute to an overall drop in the volume of single-family mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in March. In the first quarter of 2014, Fannie and Freddie combined for $355.8 billion in new single-family securitizations, down 63.7 percent year-to-date.In March, Fannie and Freddie produced just $37.6 billion of single-family MBS, down 15.6 percent from February. It was the lowest monthly volume since January 2009.

The jumbo mortgage-backed security market has yet to recover from the spike in interest rates seen nearly a year ago. Investor demand for the securities remains weak, even with the pristine performance of jumbo MBS issued since 2010. Four deals were priced in the first quarter of 2014 for a total of $1.29 billion in issuance, according to Inside Nonconforming Markets. While that was a 56.0 percent increase in issuance compared with ... [Includes two data charts]

It’s only a matter of time before the remaining big bank defendants settle lawsuits filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency over billions in non-agency mortgage-backed securities sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the years leading up to the housing crisis, predicts a legal expert. Last week, Bank of America agreed to a $9.3 billion settlement that covers its own dealings as well as those of Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, which it acquired in 2008. The agreement covers some $57 billion of MBS issued or underwritten by these firms.

If all goes as scheduled, the most prolific issuer of jumbo mortgage-backed securities since 2010 won’t issue a jumbo MBS in the first quarter of 2014, the first quarterly blank for the firm since the end of 2011. Redwood is planning to issue a $347.30 million jumbo MBS on April 2; the deal priced this week. It’s the first jumbo MBS from the real estate investment trust since November. Officials at Redwood said a lack of demand from investors has limited issuance of jumbo MBS ...

The U.S. Supreme Court has added two more lawsuits to its growing list of securities cases by agreeing to take up an IndyMac MBS suit. In Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi v. IndyMac MBS Inc. et al, SCOTUS has agreed to consider whether the filing of a class-action lawsuit tolls the three-year statute of repose under the Securities Act of 1933 or whether the statute is an absolute bar that cannot be suspended. Like a statute of limitations, a statute of repose cuts off...

Favorable shifts in macroeconomic conditions have contributed to a rise in single-family rentals and an increase in the investment in these properties by institutional buyers, prompting Moody’s Investors Service to release its criteria for rating the emerging single-family rental securitization market. The criteria come four months after Moody’s rated Invitation Homes 2013-SFR. The rating agency awarded $278.7 million in triple-A ratings for the largest tranche of the deal. “A slowly improving economy will boost...

More homebuyers opted for adjustable-rate mortgages as interest rates increased during 2013, although most of these loans remain in portfolio. ARMs accounted for 11.7 percent of mortgage originations in the third quarter of 2013, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, up from a share of 9.8 percent in the third quarter of 2012. Quarterly originations of ARMs have stayed relatively steady in recent years and hit $54 billion in the third quarter of 2013. But ARMs remain relatively rare in [Includes two data charts]

Two pages of data showing the top 30 sellers of agency mortgages in 2013 with a break-out for each lender listing average credit scores, debt-to-income ratios, loan-to-value ratios, loan size, purchase-mortgage share and refinance share. All characteristics are shown for the origination channel (retail, correspondent and broker) at each lender.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac combined did less business in single-family mortgage-backed securities in 2013 than the previous year while a growing share of business came from small and mid-sized lenders, according to an Inside The GSEs analysis. For the year, the two GSEs produced $1.161 trillion in single-family MBS, down 8.4 percent from their overall production in 2012.