Aggregation of non-agency mortgages isn’t generating the types of returns seen in 2021, but it’s still a good business, according to officials at MFA Financial.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust acquired $2.5 billion of non-agency loans last year, about half of them during the fourth quarter. The REIT is targeting returns of around 15% from non-agency MBS issuance.

Western Asset Mortgage Capital took a third consecutive loss during the October-December period as it works to shift its investment focus to non-QMs and other non-agency products.

Goldman Sachs is set to issue its first expanded-credit MBS, with four other firms also offering deals in the past two weeks. In the prime non-agency space, JPMorgan Chase has another large offering.

In a rising rate environment, issuers of jumbo MBS are seeing better pricing when the loans in their deals have short average seasoning times.

Annaly Capital Management is increasing the amount of capital it dedicates to aggregating non-agency mortgages and issuing MBS.

Expanded-credit mortgages and business-purpose lending are set to play a bigger role in Redwood’s operations. Third-party investments also generated strong returns for the REIT in the fourth quarter.

This week, Annaly, the Change Company, Credit Suisse and Lone Star Funds all offered their second individual expanded-credit MBS of the year. Activity is also humming along in the prime non-agency market.

Fitch’s review of 225 non-agency MBS prompts downgrade of a single tranche; Unison issues securitization with residential equity agreements; Carrington offers to complete certain non-QM origination tasks for brokers.

Angel Oak is sourcing loans from lenders beyond its affiliates, Invictus reached a diversification milestone and Angelo Gordon went the other way, sponsoring a deal with loans from just one lender.