With 2018 winding down, issuers of non-agency mortgage-backed securities introduced two new deals this week. Neuberger Berman is set to issue its second expanded credit MBS of the year while Verus Mortgage Capital is planning its second deal backed by nonprime loans for investment properties. Neuberger Berman’s Homeward Opportunities Fund I Trust 2018-2 will be a $320.1 million deal and Verus Securitization Trust 2018-INV2 will be a $254.8 million issuance. Sprout Mortgage ...

Brokers and correspondents looking for nonprime lenders to work with should consider the benefits provided by firms with vertical integration, according to a recent white paper by Citadel Servicing Corp. Citadel happens to be a vertically-integrated lender with wholesale and correspondent operations along with a servicing platform. The lender defined vertical integration as the combination of two or more stages of production at one company as opposed to the stages ...

Originations of interest-only mortgages declined by 6.6 percent on a sequential basis in the third quarter among a group of lenders surveyed by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Total first-lien mortgage originations declined by 2.2 percent in that span. Fifteen lenders originated $4.74 billion of IOs in the third quarter. Some 33 percent of the lenders managed to increase their IO production on a quarterly basis, with large gains at Citadel Servicing, PNC Mortgage and ... [Includes one data chart]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new policies this week regarding no-action letters and the establishment of a “product sandbox.” The proposal aims to help financial services companies develop innovative products. Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, was highly critical of the proposal, claiming that it could “wipe out consumer protection laws for entire industries.” She said the proposal is certain to ... [Includes four briefs]

The correspondent channel has continued to gain market share of jumbo mortgages as production of such loans has shifted to purchase financing, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Correspondents accounted for 21.7 percent of third-quarter jumbo mortgages originated by lenders that report data to Inside Mortgage Finance. The sector’s market share has increased for three consecutive quarters. Correspondents accounted... [Includes one data chart]

The spread between interest rates for qualified mortgages and similar non-QMs has narrowed somewhat this year. The lower premium placed on non-QMs suggests that lenders are getting more comfortable with the liability associated with the loans. The findings were detailed recently by two economists at the Federal Reserve who had access to loan-level data from Optimal Blue. The data comprised loan applications and mortgage locks from January 2013 through September 2018 ...

Among the top 15 servicers of subprime mortgages, only one grew its portfolio over the 12 months prior to the end of September, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The increase was posted by Citadel Servicing Corp., which is boosting its portfolio with originations of nonprime mortgages. Citadel handled a subprime portfolio with an unpaid principal balance of $1.80 billion as of September-end. The portfolio grew ... [Includes one data chart]

The strong demand for non-agency mortgage-backed securities this year looks to be tied to a number of factors, according to industry analysts. ICE Data Services, a firm that tracks non-agency MBS prices, noted that the sector has been helped by large settlements involving legacy non-agency MBS. And investors are more comfortable with the legal liability associated with non-qualified mortgages, prompting significant securitization of the loans. Issuers are also experimenting with ...

Federal regulators last week proposed a significant expansion in the number of non-agency mortgages that will not need a full appraisal. Currently, non-agency mortgages with loan balances of less than $250,000 don’t need an appraisal if originated by a bank. The regulators proposed increasing the threshold to $400,000. Mortgages below the appraisal threshold still require an evaluation, just not a full appraisal. Banking regulators said the proposal is an effort to reduce ...

An affiliate of American Mortgage Investment Partners Management plans to issue a non-agency mortgage-backed security with a high share of cash-out refinances on investment properties. Some 70.2 percent of the mortgages in the $199.5 million RCO 2018-VFS1 Trust are cash-out refis while 16.0 percent were to purchase an investment property. All of the loans were originated by Visio Financial Services, a lender that started producing mortgages in September 2015 ...