New issuance of prime non-agency MBS increased by 6.1 percent during the second quarter of 2006, lifting the market to its third best quarter ever in terms of new volume, according to a new ranking and analysis from the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. A total of $152.49 billion of prime non-agency MBS – including prime jumbo and Alt A deals – was issued during the most recent three-month period. The only bigger quarters in… [One data table included]
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Countrywide Financial remained the top producer of Alt A MBS as of the midway point in 2006 even though the company gave up a wee bit of market share. Countrywide issued $34.02 billion of Alt A MBS through the first six months of 2006, up 22.2 percent from its production during the same period of 2005, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. But the overall Alt A MBS business was up 27.3 percent… [One data table included]
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Freddie Mac this week announced a voluntary agreement with its chief regulator to limit future growth in its retained portfolio, but the decision isn’t expected to have a significant impact on the mortgage securities market. The government-sponsored enterprise agreed to limit growth in its investment portfolio – the second largest in the MBS market – to no more than a 2 percent annual growth rate. The restraint will stay in place until Freddie gets caught…
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The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added the debate on servicer discretion to a long-running project to clarify the permitted activities for a qualifying special-purpose entity, or QSPE, to ensure consistency in a forthcoming guidance for mortgage securitizations. The Mortgage Bankers Association has been closely following FASB’s discussions on both projects due to their implications for the accounting treatment of mortgage securitizations. The two projects are part of an ongoing board effort to update…
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The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee this week approved its version of a bill that would increase competition in the securities ratings business, adding an amendment barring the Securities and Exchange Commission from regulating ratings methodologies. The amended legislation also specifies that rating services will not lose intellectual property rights for their systems by registering with the SEC. …
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With interest-only mortgages now a growing component in Freddie Mac’s MBS lineup, the government-sponsored enterprise is making pools of these loans eligible for REMIC transactions. Beginning this month, Freddie Initial Interest fixed-rate Gold PC securities with prefixes H0, H1 and H2 can be packaged in real estate mortgage investment conduits. The interest-only fixed-rate Gold PCs can be mixed with regularly amortizing fixed-rate Gold PCs of the same coupon and term. …
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