Commercial banks and savings institutions continued to grow their investments in agency MBS during the second quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. Banks and thrifts held $1.583 trillion of agency and non-agency MBS on their balance sheets at the end of June. That was up just 0.3 percent from the first quarter, but it was the highest level since the first nine months of 2012, when bank and thrift MBS holdings topped $1.60 trillion. All the gain came...[Includes two data tables]
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Issuers of non-agency MBS injected some variety into the market in recent weeks with a deal backed solely by non-qualified mortgages and improvements to the representations and warranties on a jumbo MBS. Lone Star Funds issued a $72 million non-agency MBS backed mostly by non-QMs originated by Caliber Home Loans, a lender owned by the private-equity firm. Bloomberg first reported on the deal, which was priced on Aug. 7. Details on COLT 2015-A have been...
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Securitization industry participants raised concerns after an appeals court last week refused to hear an appeal of an earlier ruling that reversed the long-held federal preemption that nonbanks have relied on to keep securitized loans exempt from state usury laws. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the appeal of Madden v. Midland Funding last week. No explanation was provided with the denial. The appeal was supported by the Structured Finance Industry Group and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, among others. SFIG said...
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Two more long-running legacy MBS lawsuits were resolved last week after defendants Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank separately agreed to settle with plaintiffs. The NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund, a union pension fund in Decatur, IL, is seeking preliminary court approval of a $272 million settlement with Goldman Sachs on behalf of entities that purchased MBS issued by defendant GS Mortgage Securities and which Goldman underwrote. If approved, the settlement would put...
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to increase their focus on the multifamily segment, which generated growing income for the two government-sponsored enterprises during the second quarter. Freddie Mac’s comprehensive income for multifamily grew by $102 million to $366 million for the second quarter. The increase was primarily due to higher unrealized gains on available-for-sale-securities. New purchase volume remained...
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Investors have a lot more to worry about these days than the collateral damage stemming from problems in Greece and China and a bumpy U.S. stock market. Ratings analysts indicate some new energy-related risks – most notably earthquakes near “fracking” sites and a plunge in the price of oil – have emerged as potentially significant challenges to investors in real estate and to mortgage lenders. Analysts at Standard & Poor’s said in a recent client note that earthquakes in proximity to fracking sites introduce a unique risk factor into the investment equation for those with a stake in real estate located in affected regions. “In particular, determining whether or not earthquake coverage is...
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