An affiliate of Blackstone is preparing to issue a rare non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by jumbo reverse mortgages, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A handful of non-agency MBS backed by jumbo reverse mortgages were issued before the financial crisis and none appear to have been issued in recent years. Blackstone’s Podium Mortgage Capital hired Clayton to perform due diligence on 280 jumbo reverse mortgages. The loans were ...

The Milken Institute – a nonpartisan think tank – established a new policy team last week to work on issues involving housing finance reform. Eric Kaplan was named director of Milken’s Housing Finance Program. He was a managing partner at Ranieri Strategies and continues to chair the Structured Finance Industry Group’s RMBS 3.0 effort. Michael Milken and Lewis Ranieri will co-chair a new Housing Advisory Council, which will inform the work of the team led by Kaplan ... [Includes two briefs]

Originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages increased in the second quarter of 2017, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. But halfway through 2017, volume is lagging the production seen last year. An estimated $83.0 billion of non-agency jumbos were originated in the second quarter, up 18.6 percent from the previous period. In the first half of 2017, an estimated $153.0 billion of jumbos were originated, down ... [Includes one data chart]

Originations of nonconforming mortgages are increasing as lenders get more comfortable with the loans and seek to maintain production levels. Some $7.0 billion in nonconforming mortgages were originated in the second quarter of 2017, according to estimates by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The category includes nonprime loans, mortgages that don’t meet the qualified-mortgage test and other non-agency products, but it excludes prime jumbo loans. In our surveys ... [Includes one data chart]

Officials at Starwood Property Trust announced last week that the company will acquire non-qualified mortgages with funding provided by new membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank system. Starwood is a real estate investment trust that has traditionally focused on commercial mortgages. Starwood said it gained membership in the FHLBank of Chicago shortly after the end of the second quarter of 2017. Jeffrey DiModica, president of Starwood, said the REIT will ...

JPMorgan Chase and Redwood Trust are set to continue their regular issuance of non-agency mortgage-backed securities, with deals scheduled to close on Aug. 30. The planned JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2017-3 is a $1.02 billion deal, while Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2017-6 is sized at $355.4 million. Both of the MBS are predominantly backed by non-agency jumbo mortgages along with some loans eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises. Rating services ...

Two nonbanks involved in originating and acquiring non-qualified mortgages aren’t satisfied with the amount of volume they have taken in thus far. “We like our portfolio, but we wish it would ramp faster,” Mark Tecotzky, co-chief investment officer at Ellington Financial, said during the company’s earnings call for the second quarter. Ellington has made an equity investment in an unidentified lender and as of the end of the second quarter was holding non-QMs with an unpaid principal balance of ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s planned review of the ability-to-repay rule prompted comment letters from trade groups representing various industry participants along with individual comment letters from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The big banks were critical of certain aspects of the ATR rule and requested changes that could increase originations of non-agency mortgages. “The ATR/qualified mortgage rule is not working as desired,” said Michael Weinbach, a ...

Legislation being pushed by Republicans in Congress would reduce appraisal requirements for a unique set of mortgages: those with balances of $250,000 or less that are held in portfolio for three years. Supporters of the legislation claim the carve-out will help first-time homebuyers and lenders in rural areas, while consumer advocates caution that the proposal could lead to practices similar to those that contributed to the financial crisis. H.R. 3221, the Securing Access to Affordable Mortgage Act ...

Citadel Servicing Corp. recently launched a one-month bank-statement program for self-employed borrowers. While some lenders offer bank-statement programs, borrowers are typically required to provide at least one year of documentation. Citadel stressed that deposits into the borrower’s bank account aren’t the determinant figure to verify income. “Income is attested to and declared [by the borrower], a Citadel underwriter will confirm that ... [Includes three briefs]