Default risk on non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed securities continues to improve gradually, according to economic risk factors applied to Fitch Ratings non-agency jumbo MBS loan loss model. The rating service released the economic risk factors for the second quarter of 2012 last week. Fitch said the improvement is tied to home price trends and it expects home prices to touch bottom in 2013. New Jersey and New York have the highest default risk in the country, with expected defaults well above ... [Includes three briefs]
Tentative signs of stability in home prices in early 2012 have yet to spur a rebound in home-equity lending, as the outstanding balance of second mortgages fell to its lowest level in seven years. According to the Federal Reserve, the supply of home-equity loans fell 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2012 to just $849.5 billion. The home-equity market, which includes home-equity lines of credit and closed-end second mortgages, has shrunk by 24.9 percent since peaking...(Includes three data charts)
The pending issuance by Redwood Trust of a $293.59 million jumbo non-agency mortgage-backed security appears to have been adjusted to address concerns about previous issuance by the real estate investment trust. The deal is set to receive AAA ratings from three rating services, more lenders contributed to the deal, and the concentration of loans in San Francisco was reduced. The borrowers in this pool have high FICO scores, significant liquid cash reserves and equity in their properties, which are ...
Banks and thrifts increased their holdings of first-lien residential mortgages in the first quarter of 2012 compared with a year ago, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Bank Mortgage Database. The 3.0 percent growth rate was partly due to originations of nonconforming mortgages, which helped offset portfolio runoff. Banks and thrifts held $1.74 trillion in first-liens in portfolio at the end of the first quarter. Among the top three bank portfolio lenders, only Wells Fargo ... [Includes one data chart]
Redwood Trust and the main lenders it sources mortgages from largely rank above average, according to new assessments by Moodys Investors Service. Moodys ranked Redwood Residential Acquisition Corp. above average as a jumbo aggregator based on the performance of Redwoods collateral, lending practices, and operational stability. In our view, Redwood has a stable, credit-savvy team with a sound lending philosophy that has successfully managed its way through the financial crisis, the rating service said. Moodys also ...
FHA production of mortgages with loan amounts exceeding $417,000 rose to $4.8 billion during the first three months of 2012, according to Inside FHA Lendings analysis of FHA data. The FHA posted a significant 21.1 percent increase in agency jumbo production from the fourth quarter of 2011, offsetting the 17.9 percent drop in production year over year. The agencys maximum loan limit remained at $729,750 in high-cost areas while those of its competitors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were at the lower $625,500. Purchase loans accounted for 42.4 percent of FHA jumbo originations in ... [1 chart]
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA generated a record $28.79 billion in conforming jumbo business mortgages with loan amounts exceeding $417,000 during the first three months of 2012, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of loan-level data. The surge in agency jumbo production up 34.7 percent from the fourth quarter exceeded the 14.1 percent jump in overall Fannie, Freddie and FHA business. Conforming jumbo loans accounted for 7.5 percent of the $384.83 billion in securitization and mortgage insurance business done by the agencies in the first...(Includes three data charts)
Competition for non-agency jumbo originations is increasing, according to industry participants. The interest, largely from big banks looking to hold jumbos in portfolio and real estate investment trusts looking to securitize the assets, has led to a decline in interest rates.All of a sudden its the asset of choice because big banks are uncomfortable with other assets, so theyre coming at jumbo home mortgages, Jim Herbert, CEO of First Republic Bank, a lender that has long-focused on jumbos, said ... [Includes one data chart]
Mortgage industry participants support a new proposed definition of subprime consumer loans for banks with more than $10.0 billion in assets. However, some raised concerns that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.s proposal could unnecessarily impact holdings of nontraditional mortgages. In March, the FDIC proposed a revised definition of higher-risk consumer, commercial and industrial loans and securities for the large bank pricing model, which determines deposit insurance rates. Instead of defining subprime loans based ...
BDO Consulting wa selected this week to serve as the primary professional firm to help oversee the recent $25.0 billion servicing settlement. More than 30 BDO professionals will work with the settlements monitor to oversee the settlement. BDO is a professional services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services. The company has worked with large retail mortgage lenders and financial institutions, and conducted related assessments and investigations ... [Includes four briefs]