The VA maintained a sizeable lead in first-lien mortgage refinancing over FHA and private mortgage insurers in the first quarter of 2015 but yielded to both in purchase originations during the same period. According to the Inside Mortgage Finance database, mortgage lenders originated approximately $221.0 billion of refi loans in the first quarter, a 51.4 percent increase from a revised fourth-quarter production estimate of $146.0 billion. Of first-quarter mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, refi loans comprised 61.4 percent, up sharply from 37.6 percent for all of 2014. VA streamline refis accounted for $20.4 billion while FHA refis made up $12.2 billion of refis pooled in agency mortgage-backed securities. FHA’s refi production jumped 57.8 percent in the first quarter. On the other hand, refi loans with private MI accounted for $14.2 billion produced during the ...