Due diligence providers that work on MBS and ABS also will have to provide certifications to the rating services which will be disclosed on each rating issued.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued their conservatorship march toward smaller retained mortgage portfolios during the second quarter of 2014, with most of the focus on non-agency collateral, according to a new analysis by Inside MBS & ABS. The two government-sponsored enterprises ended June with a combined $872.7 billion in mortgage-related holdings, down 3.3 percent from the previous quarter. Compared to a year ago, their combined portfolio was down 19.7 percent. It was down 45.2 percent from the $1.592 trillion they held in the fourth quarter of 2008 shortly after the two were put in conservatorship. The biggest decline has been...[Includes one data chart]

A top producing office in Arizona for one mid-sized lender is making it widely known that it would like to move the entire staff to another firm...

A solid increase in non-agency commercial MBS issuance during the second quarter of 2014 provided most of the lift in new income-property securitizations, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market analysis. A total of $36.69 billion of commercial mortgages were securitized during the second quarter, up 16.1 percent from the first three months of the year. At the midway point in 2014, new CMBS issuance remained 24.7 percent behind the heady levels recorded over the same period last year, which ended up being the market’s highest point since the financial crisis. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae saw...[Includes two data charts]

At the midway point this year, agency multifamily issuance was off 36.9 percent from the first half of 2013, and production was essentially flat in the second quarter.

The immediate future is looking mostly bright for publicly-traded real estate investment trusts that toil in the commercial real estate sector – that is, as long as origination volumes remain healthy. Several high-profile commercial REITs – including Starwood Property Trust, Colony Financial and Ladder Capital – do not report second quarter results until next week, but hopes are high that earnings will be mostly positive. One commercial REIT that did report this week was...

Standard & Poor’s said it is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission to address issues raised by the enforcement staff in connection with botched ratings of several commercial MBS transactions in 2011. A spokesperson for S&P said the rating agency and its parent company, McGraw Hill Financial Inc., are cooperating with the SEC after receipt of a “Wells Notice” last week indicating both companies may soon be the target of a regulatory enforcement action. The SEC notice is...

Freedom Mortgage reported continued growth in originations in the second quarter of 2014, largely driven by correspondent production. The nonbank has focused on agency mortgages with strong underwriting, retaining servicing on the loans. Freedom had $5.72 billion in originations in the second quarter of 2014, a big 48.7 percent increase from the previous quarter and up 31.1 percent compared with the second quarter of 2013. Officials at the nonbank touted Freedom’s strength while originations have declined overall. “While the mortgage industry is experiencing a downturn, Freedom Mortgage has increased...

On the residential side, the top hire was David Firestone, who carries the title of vice president of financial operations.

A significantly bigger Ginnie Mae would be placed in charge of all MBS issued with a government backing while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be wound down and stripped of their government sponsorship under a bill filed last week by House Democrats. The legislation – the Partnership to Strengthen Homeownership Act, H.R. 5055, sponsored by House Democrats John Delaney (MD), John Carney (DE) and Jim Himes (CT) – has zero chance of gaining traction this year. It would create a new Ginnie Mae MBS backed by conventional mortgages that would have the full faith and credit of the federal government while tapping private capital to absorb some of the risk. The new structure under the Delaney-Carney-Himes bill would create...