Capital markets

Liquidity, products and pricing are the main concerns for the secondary mortgage market in 2019.

Mortgage servicing assets are poised for gains in 2019. But as higher average mortgage rates spur lenders to sell servicing rights and diversify their loan offerings, servicers' work will also get more complicated and costly.

Ginnie Mae officials are concerned about unusual activity with Department of Veterans Affairs cash-out refinances and are investigating the causes, as well as whether predatory lenders are taking advantage of veterans.

The unique approach Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are each taking with their credit-risk transfer products is quickly becoming a key point of differentiation that's rekindling competition between the government-sponsored enterprises.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac transferred a substantial amount of credit risk to the private sector through both single-family and multifamily market transactions in the first half of the year, with activity expected to rise in 2019, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Mike Cagney’s current venture, Figure Technologies, is offering consumers the ability to apply online for home equity loans and get funding in as little as five days.

Freddie Mac produced modest second-quarter results, reflecting a stabilizing business that CEO Donald Layton compared to a utility company.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac enjoy considerable advantages because of their lower cost of capital and significant government subsidies. But with some conforming loans, the private market is finding a way to compete.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew $44.3 billion during the first three months of 2018, the largest first-quarter gain since before the Great Recession, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The holdings demonstrate “resiliency over several credit cycles, with low realized principal losses and robust returns for CLO equity,” managers say.