S&P Global ranked as the top rating service in the non-mortgage ABS market during the first half of 2017, with strong market shares in the major asset categories, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside MBS & ABS. S&P rated $69.54 billion of ABS issued in the first half of the year, roughly 60.1 percent of total issuance by dollar volume. For all of 2016, the company finished second in ABS ratings with a 53.6 percent share of the market. S&P had...[Includes two data tables]

MBS and ABS investors have more cash than they know what to do with, according to participants at the ABS East conference sponsored by Information Management Network this week. “Liquidity is strong across the spectrum and probably the best we’ve ever seen for structured products,” said Scott Levy, a senior managing director at Guggenheim Securities. He noted that three years ago, some of the securities the firm was involved with had 15 investors; now, similar deals might have 70 investors. “There’s a lot of demand and a lot less supply,” Levy added. More than 4,100 people registered...

Issuers of ABS are utilizing diverse structures to comply with the risk-retention requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, according to a new sector commentary by analysts at Moody’s Investors Service. “Although securitization sponsors’ retention of portions of their own deals in general is credit positive … the rules have effectively just formalized prior common industry practices for many consumer ABS subsectors. This confirms our initial stance that the rules are only marginally credit positive for this sector,” said Vice President and Senior Analyst Yan Yan and Vice President and Senior Credit Officer Jingjing Dang. “That said, the methods of compliance that have emerged among ABS asset classes since the rules went into effect in December have varied.” Their first take-away is...

Commercial banks and savings institutions have been steadily adding to their residential MBS portfolios, but they show significantly less interest in the non-mortgage ABS market. Total bank investment in non-mortgage ABS sank again in the second quarter, dropping by $5.05 billion from the end of March to $118.38 billion. Compared to a year ago, bank ABS holdings were down 9.6 percent and they’ve been in steady decline since the end of 2013. It’s...[Includes two data tables]

Even though indications of stress in the U.S. auto market are proliferating, risks in the auto loan ABS sector are still under control and investors are protected by healthy levels of credit enhancement, according to industry analysts. “Despite late-cycle indicators continuing to garner headlines – softer used-car pricing, rising inventories, weakening headline seasonally adjusted annual sales, and rising loan losses – we remain comfortable with auto loan ABS fundamentals,” according to a new report from Kroll Bond Rating Agency. KBRA did concede...

In a move that would benefit the secondary market for loans made by national banks, members in the Senate and the House of Representatives recently introduced legislation to clarify that interest rates on certain loans remain unchanged after the sale or transfer of the loan. In the Senate, Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia late last week introduced S. 1642, which would amend the National Bank Act to clarify that loans which are valid when made remain valid when they’re sold, even to buyers subject to different state law. Similar language would be added to the Home Owners’ Loan Act, the Federal Credit Union Act, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Joining Warner in sponsoring the bill were...

A sharp increase in business-finance ABS issuance offset declines in other sectors to lift overall ABS production during the second quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. The market produced $59.31 billion of new non-mortgage ABS during the second quarter, an 11.1 percent increase over the first three months of the year. That brought year-to-date issuance up to $112.68 billion, a 30.4 percent gain over the first six months of 2016. The star performer was...[Includes two data tables]

ABS investors could see strong returns by employing the “Moneyball” strategy pioneered in Major League Baseball by the Oakland Athletics, according to analysts at Wells Fargo Securities. The strategy, detailed in a book and movie, focuses on certain statistics that managers of the Athletics thought were undervalued by other teams. Wells said the theory can be adapted to the ABS market, with an emphasis on deals that can reliably hit “singles” instead of potentially risky investments that aim for home runs. “With interest rates low and ABS spreads reasonably tight, many market participants are...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to continue collecting information considered crucial in approving certain lender requests to close VA loans automatically. Currently, non-supervised VA lenders requesting approval to close VA loans on an automatic basis use VA Form 26-8736 to submit the information needed for VA approval. Upon receiving the form, the appropriate VA regional loan center processes and evaluates the information. Without the required data, VA would not be able to determine if a non-supervised lender is qualified for automatic loan processing. The required data include, among other things, a resume of each principal officer’s experience in mortgage lending in a managerial capacity and the latest financial statements audited and certified by a certified public accountant. The form also requires a listing of all ...

An industry trade group is requesting that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exclude reverse mortgages from the income-reporting requirement of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association is seeking an exemption similar to the HMDA exemptions for rate spread; Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act status; origination charges; discount points; lender credits; total loan costs; points and fees; prepayment penalty term; and balloon payments. However, should the CFPB require income reporting on reverse mortgages, the NRMLA would want further guidance and clarification. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans make up over 99 percent of the reverse mortgage market today, and have not dropped below 85 percent since 1993, according to the group. NRMLA’s request is part of a broader comment on ...