Mortgages

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s exemption from the Qualified Mortgage rule is on borrowed time, but a House bill would allow lenders to use the mortgage giants’ guidelines for documenting borrower income.

The sponsors of the Class A structure, deemed a “trophy asset” by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, are placing $825 million of a $1.2 billion whole loan into a transaction dubbed CPTS 2019-CPT.

The dollar volume of mortgages guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs rose nearly 9% in the past fiscal year as interest-rate reduction refinancing loans surged nearly 75%.

The share of severely underwater mortgages shrunk by over two percentage points compared with a year ago, as these borrowers benefited from the rise in equity levels, Attom Data Solutions said.

An increase in credit risk transfer activity since 2015 signifies a sea change for private mortgage insurers that may be about to intensify, according to an industry trade group.

Sixty percent of the loans were underwritten with just 12- or 24-month bank statements, according to ratings agency reports.

The San Francisco fintech company has agreed to pay a $110,000 fine for failing to comply with a 2017 state law that requires mortgage servicers to be licensed.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking comment on a proposal that could pave the way for potential Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac competitors to use the uniform mortgage-backed security structure.

Freddie Mac is now forecasting back-to-back years of $2 trillion in mortgage loan originations rather than a drop-off in 2020.

A risk management model revision that decreased single-family loan-loss allowances and a strong mortgage lending environment contributed to consistent earnings results at Fannie Mae in the third quarter.

When it comes to possible new competitors in the secondary market, the heads of the two current outlets more than welcomed the possibility of additional players in their space because of housing finance reform.

Ginnie Mae is looking for input on its proposed guidelines for electronic promissory notes and other mortgage documents that it plans to test through a digital collateral pilot.

The loans underlying the $465 million securitization that OBX 2019-EXP3 Trust is launching will provide a test of the market’s willingness to accept concentration risk in a high-quality pool of mortgages.

First-lien, prime residential mortgages are securing the Visio 2019-2 Trust, which will raise $202,682,000 from the market, and which has collateral that was funded by the Mortgage Pass-Through Notes, Series 2019.

The outlook for hotels and suburban offices is still questionable, but the prognosis for other property types in the securitized commercial real estate market remains fairly strong, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The housing finance industry supports a proposed rule revision that would exempt banks regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. from an RMBS disclosure requirement.

GameStop's plan to shutter up to 200 stores could adversely affect commercial mortgage-backed securities loans with a combined allocated property balance of almost $42 million, according to Morningstar Credit Ratings.

As lawmakers tackle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, any revamp must lessen risk to the mortgage system and U.S. taxpayers.

RESIMAC Bastille Trust RESIMAC Series 2019-1NC is an Australian-dollar (AUD) $1 billion transaction (approximately US$674.5 million) that will feature a US$250 million Class A-1 tranche of notes, according to Fitch.

Freddie Mac is postponing the date it will make using its Servicing Gateway platform mandatory, and adding new requirements related to chargeoffs and interactions with document custodians.