Mortgage securitization rates in 2015 are still low compared to last year, but some of the decline is likely due to the lag between primary market origination and MBS issuance. For the first six months of the year, new MBS issuance represented 73.8 percent of total originations, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. That’s down from a 75.4 percent securitization rate for all of 2014. Securitization rates are...[Includes one data table]

Bank and thrift holdings of first-lien mortgages continued to grow in the second quarter of 2015, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of call reports. Most of the change occurred among the top three bank mortgage portfolios: Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. Banks and thrifts held $1.81 trillion of first-lien mortgages as of the end of the second quarter of 2015. The holdings increased by 1.5 percent compared with ... [Includes one data chart]

Information regarding the $72.11 million non-agency mortgage-backed security from Lone Star Funds’ Colt Funding has been limited, although a document obtained by Inside Nonconforming Markets provides some more details on the deal. COLT 2015-A was the first non-agency MBS to be backed predominantly by non-qualified mortgages. Credit Suisse was the lead manager, and U.S. Bank is the trustee. The MBS was backed by mortgages originated by Caliber Home Loans ...

EverBank Financial has been able to maintain strong loan performance while building up its jumbo originations. EverBank had $1.46 billion in jumbo originations during the second quarter of 2015, up 31.6 percent from a year ago. The bank’s originations of conventional mortgages increased by 11.9 percent in that span, hitting $1.26 billion in the second quarter. In August, Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed its rating of EverBank as a “strong” originator of jumbo mortgages ...

Unfavorable economics and new regulations appear to have slowed the issuance of jumbo mortgage-backed securities in recent months. New deals from Credit Suisse and Two Harbors Investment suggest that the market could be regaining its legs in September. Mid-way through the third quarter of 2015, only four jumbo MBS had been priced, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. An average of about 11 deals per quarter have been issued in the past year ...

While the vast majority of jumbo mortgages being originated continue to feature tight underwriting standards, some lenders are willing to offer unique jumbos, with downpayments as low as 5 percent or allowing for borrowers who are unemployed. Parkside Lending recently launched a jumbo that allows for combined loan-to-value ratios as high as 95 percent. The lender doesn’t require mortgage insurance on the loans. “We believe our new jumbo loan offering ...

Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle – and even some regulators – are pushing for legislation to broaden the types of loans that receive protections allotted to qualified mortgages. A number of issues remain in flux, including how widely the expanded QM definition would be applied and whether there is enough urgency to pass a bill before the end of the year. Last week, Thomas Hoenig, vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., detailed ...

A portfolio of $16.53 million non-qualified mortgages is available for sale, according to an announcement last week by Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. The jumbo adjustable-rate mortgages were originated by a “large Midwest bank” and are lightly seasoned, according to MIAC. The loans have an average unpaid principal balance of $688,855 and an average interest rate of 3.661 percent. The loans are largely purchase mortgages and ... [Includes two briefs]

More than a year after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s standards for qualified mortgages took effect, originations of near-prime non-QMs remain limited. However, industry participants are optimistic that originations will pick up and Lone Star Funds recently jolted the sector with a non-agency mortgage-backed security. The $72 million non-agency MBS from Lone Star was backed by non-QMs originated by Caliber Home Loans, a lender owned by the private-equity firm ...

Potential issuers of non-agency mortgage-backed securities looking to loosen underwriting standards on loans to be included in MBS are getting tough feedback from rating services. Fitch Ratings said last week that non-qualified mortgages with weak income documentation would likely face a “double penalty” compared with a similar non-QM that meet the documentation standards set for QMs. Non-QMs with “alternative documentation” included in non-agency MBS would ...