Secondary markets

Citizens' SVP and director of mortgage secondary and capital markets reflects on what her experience with past cycles suggests about where this one may be headed.

While the government-sponsored enterprise cut its origination forecast for this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association's updated forecast was unchanged from its October prediction.

High interest rates and constrained inventory will take its toll on originations and securitization activity in 2024, the rating agency commented.

Though home mortgage issuance has slumped in line with originations, new potential bank capital rules and increased consumer debt consolidation could boost activity for these two subsets in the secondary market.

Credit ratings were cut on the highest number of commercial mortgage-backed securities in "recent memory" last week, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp.

The real estate investment trust arm of two affiliate mortgage-related companies could reduce other debt and finance purchases of loans, servicing or securities.

The mortgages are part of a program that received congressional scrutiny earlier this year.

Lenders will be adjusting to new mandates regarding mortgage applicants that don't have payments for education debt on their credit reports.

Michael DeVito has been able to grow the government-sponsored enterprise's net worth, but at the current pace and without a rule change, it could take 10 years to build enough capital to exit conservatorship.

The government-sponsored enterprises have consistently earmarked some distressed loans for community, nonprofit and minority investors. Certain Democrats want more.

Industry executives coming off a tough year are wondering what the transition will cost and how many borrowers it'll bring in.

The agency's president, Alanna McCargo, called the nonbank liquidity issue "the biggest of our time," while speaking at the Bipartisan Policy Center Tuesday.

Product availability for July remained at levels last seen in 2013 as rates briefly broke above the 7% mark during the month, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The new technology expands the capabilities of automation used to obtain digital transcript information from self-employed borrowers.

But mortgage numbers remain historically very low and fall short of pre-pandemic levels, according to VantageScore's latest monthly report.

It's a toss-up between a recession or a soft landing, though some, including Fannie Mae's Doug Duncan, still believe a downturn is more likely than not.

For large banks, the agencies wanted to go above the global standards for residential mortgages, as well as some business loans, to avoid giving those lenders a competitive advantage over smaller peers, according to another person familiar with the proposal.

Churchill Funding is accusing Easy Financial of reneging on a master purchase agreement both companies signed in 2020.

Over one-third of the struggling borrowers who received recast loan terms in the first quarter cut their monthly obligation by 20% or more.

Fee hikes at the government-sponsored enterprises are one remedy, the government-sponsored enterprise's regulator noted in its annual report to Congress.