Originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages in the first quarter of 2017 were down by 29.0 percent from the previous quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. A decline in refinance activity contributed to the sharp drop in jumbo funding. An estimated $71.00 billion of non-agency jumbos were originated during the quarter. Not only did volume fall significantly from the fourth quarter of 2016, production was ... [Includes one data chart]

Redwood Trust posted $37.0 million of net income in the first quarter of 2017, up 45.8 percent from the previous quarter and more than double the net income the real estate investment trust reported for the first quarter of 2016. Income from Redwood’s mortgage-banking activities was boosted by higher loan purchase volume and strong demand in the secondary market for jumbo mortgages. Redwood purchased jumbo mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of ...

Impac Mortgage Holdings has significantly increased its originations of non-qualified mortgages and plans to package the loans into non-agency mortgage-backed securities. The nonbank originated $184.3 million of non-QMs in the first quarter of 2017, up from $86.3 million in the previous period. In all of 2016, Impac originated $289.6 million in non-QMs. The product accounted for 11.6 percent of Impac’s originations in the first quarter, up from a 2.8 percent share the previous period ...

Investors showed strong appetite for the largest non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by post-crisis nonprime originations. The $402.65 million COLT 2017-1 priced at tighter yields than any other post-crisis rated nonprime MBS amid stronger demand for mortgage credit, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank Securities. The deal from an affiliate of Lone Star Funds priced near the end of April and closed last week. “The transaction was priced at the tightest level ...

More buyers and sellers are getting into the whole-loan market for non-jumbo loans, especially nonprime mortgages, industry experts said. That’s especially true for loans that don’t meet the qualified-mortgage standard, said Matthew Nichols, CEO and founder, Deephaven Mortgage, during a panel session at last week’s secondary market conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Three keys spurred the market last year, he explained. First, performance of ...

Ocwen Financial announced last week that it’s negotiating an agreement with New Residential Investment involving mortgage servicing rights for non-agency mortgages. The agreement would reduce the servicing fee Ocwen receives but provide the company some stability and an equity investment. Before the agreement, New Residential owned rights to MSR on mortgages serviced by Ocwen with an unpaid principal balance of $117.0 billion. The loans are in non-agency ...

The Republican effort to reform many aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act was approved by the House Financial Services Committee last week on a party-line vote. The Financial CHOICE Act will likely be approved by the full House at some point, but DFA reform doesn’t appear to be a priority in the Senate. The House panel approved H.R. 10, the Financial Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs Act, on a 34-26 vote after a three-day markup ...

Wells Fargo is planning to issue non-agency mortgage-backed securities this year, Franklin Codel, a senior executive vice president of consumer lending at the bank, said during an investor presentation this week. It will be the first post-crisis non-agency MBS from Wells. He said the deals will help test whether Wells can improve investor confidence in non-agency MBS. Ellington Financial plans to issue a non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by ... [Includes four briefs]

Among the handful of lenders that provide relatively early reporting of their jumbo origination activity, production was down significantly in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Officials at the lenders noted that seasonal factors contributed to the slowdown along with an increase in interest rates. And the lenders stress that originations are likely to rebound. First Republic Bank funded $2.52 billion ...

An affiliate of Lone Star Funds is set to issue the largest nonprime mortgage-backed security backed by post-crisis originations. The deal will be nearly twice the size of the previous record holder, which was also issued by Lone Star. Most of the mortgages in COLT 2017-1 Mortgage Loan Trust were originated by Lone Star’s Caliber Home Loans, along with a 22.0 percent share for loans originated by Sterling Bank and Trust. The deal received preliminary AAA ratings from DBRS, Fitch Ratings ...