Mortgage and asset securitization started 2015 with improving issuance volume and a chance to reverse last year’s paltry output. A total of $335.1 billion of residential MBS and non-mortgage ABS were issued during the first three months of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. That was up 7.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014, and it was a big 34.3 percent jump from the first quarter of last year. The first quarter of 2014 was...[Includes two data charts]
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A little known lender called Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions hopes to fund $540 million of product this year and generate the industry’s first nonprime non-agency MBS of the “new era” with financing provided by Nomura. According to industry officials who have viewed investor materials issued by the company – a copy of which was provided to Inside MBS & ABS – Nomura has even agreed to provide “gestation repo” warehouse credit to the privately held originator. One source who claims to have knowledge of the arrangement said...
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At least three years have passed since Bank of America stopped selling new purchase-money loans into Fannie Mae securities, a drought that has benefitted at least one party: Freddie Mac. According to new figures compiled by Inside MBS & ABS, in the first quarter of 2015 BofA sold $9.57 billion of mortgages into Freddie securities, beating out Wells Fargo ($8.194 billion), which traditionally has ranked first in sales to both government-sponsored enterprises. Then again, there is...
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Some MBS investors and industry analysts were taken aback when the latest prepayment rates on the government-sponsored enterprises’ risk-transfer deals were reported last week. The spike in prepayments was due to low interest rates in January, with the risk-sharing deals more susceptible to prepayments than agency MBS overall due to the collateral included in them. Prepayment rates were particularly high on Freddie Mac Structured Agency Credit Risk transactions. Analysts at Barclays Capital said M1 tranches on STACR 2014-DN3 and STACR 2014-HQ1 experienced large pay-downs in March due to “seemingly high” prepayments. STACR 2014-DN3 M1 paid down by 18.0 percent in March and STACR 2014-HQ1 M1 paid down by 8.4 percent. “While the jump in prepayment speeds could be expected after the rates rally earlier this year, the magnitude of the jump may seem...
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In what could quickly become a “credit negative” for the subprime auto ABS sector, a top official from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicated last week that the agency is increasingly concerned about the sector and will crack down on practices deemed too risky for consumers. CFPB Deputy Director Steven Antonakes, in a speech before the Consumer Bankers Association, identified a loosening of credit in the subprime auto loan market as one of the emerging risks the bureau is paying close attention to. “From our standpoint, it is...
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Concerns about how borrowers will be impacted by a change in servicers go beyond mortgages in non-agency MBS. Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service warn that the decentralized servicing models used for consumer loan ABS issued by Springleaf Holdings and OneMain Financial face significant risks in the event that servicing needs to be transferred. Both Springleaf and OneMain originate consumer loans at local branches, where they conduct certain servicing operations and collections. The decentralized model can help boost originations and loan performance, though there are risks for investors in consumer ABS with decentralized servicing. “As long as the originator maintains the customer relationship and local presence, this ‘high-touch’ model can help...
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Fitch Ratings has issued a report updating its standards for rating residential MBS under the ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage rules that went into effect early last year. Issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the rules outline a set of underwriting criteria, which, when met for a particular loan, protects the lender from any undue litigation risk and provides a safe harbor for the loan. The rules affect...
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FirstKey Lending and B2R Finance are vying to be the first issuer of a multi-borrower single-family rental securitization. The activity follows 16 single-borrower single-family rental transactions that have been issued since November 2013. The first presale report on a multi-borrower single-family rental transaction was published March 31 by Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The $240.79 million FirstKey Lending 2015-SFR1 is set to receive a AAA rating with credit enhancement of 37.75 percent on the senior tranche, according to the rating service. FirstKey is owned by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management. On April 1, Fitch Ratings published...
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Limited refinancing opportunities for borrowers already at the lowest end of the interest rate spectrum continue to drive down voluntary prepayments on re-performing loans, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service. “We estimate that only 15 percent of all re-performing subprime loans and 12 percent of all re-performing Alt A loans could have potential refinancing options,” said Moody’s. The borrowers received...
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