Clayton Holdings was the first firm to receive an assessment from rating services as a deal agent…

Securitization rates appeared to rebound strongly in the first quarter of 2017, with an estimated 79.5 percent of primary-market mortgage originations finding their way into a variety of MBS, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. That’s up from a 69.1 percent securitization rate for all of 2016 and, if it keeps up for the rest of 2017, it would be the highest mark since 2013. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the rate was 72.7 percent. Both new MBS production and primary-market originations were...[Includes one data table]

Investors in nonprime MBS may be more vulnerable to fraudulent or defective mortgages compared to prime transactions because of deficiencies or inadequacies in the related representation-and-warranties frameworks, according to a new report from analysts at Moody’s Investors Service. “The collateral backing these transactions is riskier than the loans in post-crisis prime jumbo RMBS, which also generally use stronger frameworks,” the report said. For starters, “Transactions in the re-emerging non-prime RMBS sector are...

Marketplace lender Social Finance – a mortgage originator with a track record in securitizing consumer and student loans – has filed for a state bank charter in Utah and is also pondering selling stock to the public. For now, the privately held technology-centric firm isn’t saying much about its plans, including the initial public offering. One source familiar with the company’s mortgage operation said SoFi recently hired one executive away from a larger player by dangling the IPO and stock options. To date, there has been...

Bank and thrift holdings of first-lien mortgages took a relatively rare decline in the first quarter of 2017 as jumbo production stalled during the period, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Banks and thrifts held a total of $1.93 trillion of first-lien residential mortgages in portfolio as of the end of March, down 0.1 percent from December 2016. The holdings have increased relatively steadily in recent years ... [Includes one data chart]

Affiliates of American International Group are set to issue their first jumbo mortgage-backed security, according to presale reports released this week. AIG’s residential mortgage lending group has been acquiring jumbos on a correspondent basis since 2013, amassing more than $4.50 billion in holdings. The planned CSMC 2017-HL1 Trust is a $511.98 million securitization of loans acquired from a variety of lenders. The MBS will be issued on a Credit Suisse shelf ...

The Treasury Department last week released a report that called for regulatory reforms aimed to help boost non-agency originations and market share. Many of the reforms relating to the non-agency market could be completed without action from Congress. However, most of them are overseen by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Treasury’s recommendations appear unlikely to be enacted as long as Richard Cordray is director of the CFPB. Treasury sought input ...

The adjustable-rate mortgage share of total originations increased in the first quarter of 2017 as some borrowers shifted to the product with interest rates projected to increase. An estimated $42.0 billion of ARMs were originated in the first quarter of 2017, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. While production was down by 23.6 percent from the previous quarter, total first-lien originations declined by 33.6 percent during that time ... [Includes one data chart]

Originations of interest-only mortgages by a group of top lenders declined in the first quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. A group of 12 prominent IO lenders originated $6.81 billion of the loans in the first quarter of 2017. The lenders’ production was down by 26.7 percent from the previous quarter and down by 19.9 percent from the first quarter of 2016. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, total first-lien originations ... [Includes one data chart]

One of the most significant variables industry participants are working to address in terms of introducing a deal agent into non-agency mortgage-backed securities is the fee structure. Issuers are trying to balance paying for the services provided by a deal agent without diverting too much cash flow from investors in non-agency MBS. The fee structure will also play a key role in how rating services treat MBS that have a deal agent, with issuers looking for favorable treatment ...