Capital markets

The availability of financing hasn’t been an issue to date, but it still could be.

The deadline for inclusion in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities has been extended and an exception will be made for some participations.

Last year, smaller lenders were put at a slight disadvantage in terms of what they were charged in guarantee fees when they sold loans for cash.

The average per-loan profit margin remains incredibly strong, but the share of senior executives expecting it to fall has risen markedly.

Whether Ginnie issuance increases in the future may depend in part on the extent to which the Biden administration wishes to tap the FHA to promote affordable housing and homeownership.

Even government-sponsored enterprise loans, which have seen forbearance rates drop for 24 weeks in a row, saw a slight uptick.

York Capital Management told its investors this week that it was all but getting out of the hedge-fund business to focus on its $8.5 billion in longer-term products.

The Structured Finance Association fears Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin may release the government-sponsored enterprises from conservatorship ahead of the change in administration, and that doing so could disrupt the mortgage-backed securities market.

The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility was brought back to inject $100 billion into the pandemic-battered economy, but only a fraction has been disbursed. Yet experts, pointing to its calming effects on markets, recommend that it be extended into next year.

Lenders also increased jumbo product availability as well as rolling out new SOFR-indexed ARMs.