 | | | | By John Bancroft jbancroft@imfpubs.com Non-agency jumbo mortgage originations accounted for a historically high 19.4 percent of new lending during the first half of 2014, and the sector is steadily gaining ground, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of big-ticket mortgage activity. During the second quarter of 2014, lenders originated an estimated $59.0 billion of mortgage loans that were too big to be financed through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the FHA. That was up 34.1 percent from the first quarter, a measurably bigger increase than the 25.5 percent jump in total mortgage originations for the period. Compared to last year, jumbo lending was down 25.9 percent for the first six months of 2014, a less severe downturn than the 52.9 percent collapse in overall originations resulting from the sharp decline in refinance activity. Lenders financed $11.9 billion of conforming-jumbo mortgages – loans greater than $417,000 – through Fannie, Freddie and the FHA during the second quarter. That was up just 13.7 percent from the first three months of the year, just a little bigger increase than the 11.5 percent increase in agency production during the second quarter. Conforming-jumbo figures include only mortgages on single-unit properties in the lower 48 states and the District of Columbia. For further analysis and an exclusive ranking of the nation’s top 100 jumbo lenders, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance. Other areas of interest: Originations, Data/Rankings, Nonconforming | | By Paul Muolo pmuolo@imfpubs.com Willie Newman, the former head of InterFirst Mortgage and other shops, has established a new residential lending platform, which this week agreed to buy Maverick Funding Corp., Parsippany, NJ, for an undisclosed sum. Over the past two years, Maverick has funded roughly $3 billion and is operating at a current run-rate of $100 million per month. In an interview with IMFnews, Newman said his goal “is to grow everything.” Currently, MFC is a retail and third-party lender with licenses in 32 states. The base platform that Newman will use is called Home Point Capital, which has investment commitments of $250 million. Newman – who left Cole Taylor Mortgage earlier in the year – and his partners also will be supplying additional capital. “Our intention is to be a top tier lender,” said Newman. Other areas of interest: Originations, Servicing, Personnel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mortgage Lending & Servicing | | By Charles Wisniowski cwisniowski@imfpubs.com The Federal Housing Finance Agency should abandon its proposed increase in guaranty fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a number of industry groups. The Mortgage Bankers Association in its comment letter opposes hikes in g-fees and loan-level price adjustments, noting that g-fees have become attractive to Congress as a cash cow for funding non-housing programs. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions told the FHFA that an increase in fees may result in credit unions redirecting their loans to the FHA. In June, the FHFA issued a call for public comment on how the GSEs should calculate g-fees and whether the agency should proceed with a 10 basis point fee hike announced last year. In one of his first acts as FHFA director in January, Mel Watt postponed the g-fee hike pending further study. For further analysis, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance. Other areas of interest: Originations, Secondary/MBS, Regulatory, Fannie, Freddie, Ginnie Mae/FHA, Mortgage Lending & Servicing | | By Paul Muolo pmuolo@imfpubs.com In past presentations before stock analysts, the management of Ocwen Financial often said upwards of $1 trillion in mortgage servicing rights would change hands over the coming years. But not anymore. According to a new report from Barclays, Ocwen executives are now telling Wall Street that “only $120 billion to $150 billion” of MSRs will transfer. In the report, Barclays notes that the MSRs in question are “non-agency or non-prime,” which is Ocwen’s “core servicing targets.” In light of reduced MSR acquisitions, Ocwen plans to grow its origination platform and will introduce a new jumbo product before yearend. Management also is toying with the idea of diversifying outside the mortgage business, wrote Barclays analyst Mark DeVries. Other areas of interest: Servicing, Regulatory, Mergers & Acquisitions, Nonconforming, Mortgage Lending & Servicing | | By Thomas Ressler tressler@imfpubs.com Federal regulators should craft capital requirements for nonbank mortgage companies that emphasize areas of risk that demand adequate capital and profitability, such as lending and mortgage securitization, instead of areas that are more connected with operational efficiency and compliance, such as loan servicing, according to the Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is trying to determine how much capital a nonbank mortgage company involved in lending, securitization and/or servicing needs in order to minimize the potential risk to the government-sponsored enterprises. Separately, while Ginnie Mae is researching the risk posed by nonbank issuers. “How much capital does a nonbank seller/servicer need to mitigate risk to the government-sponsored enterprises?” analysts at Kroll said in a recent research report. “The simple answer is that the capital must support sufficient profits and liquidity to enable the nonbank to fulfill its obligations to borrowers, investors and creditors.” The FHFA wants nonbank GSE counterparties to have enough capital to prevent a business failure and bankruptcy, the Kroll team noted, but such events will inevitably occur. For more on the story, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance. Other areas of interest: Originations, Servicing, Regulatory, Fannie, Freddie, Ginnie Mae/FHA | | By Paul Muolo pmuolo@imfpubs.com Who says the mortgage broker market is dead? Don’t tell that to Altisource Portfolio Solutions, which this week rolled out a new operating platform for brokers, table funders and third-party vendors. The effort is called Wholesale One and will be headed by Greg Murray, who will serve as CEO of the new unit. During his career, Murray has worked at such megabanks as Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup… Four years ago, Altisource – a company spun off by Ocwen – bought The Mortgage Partnership of America, LLC, the manager of the Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, a national alliance of mortgage bankers that was launched by Scott Stern in 2000. Can it be assumed that because Altisource was spun off by Ocwen that LOMC members will do business with Ocwen? That’s the idea, right?... In 2012 the stock price of MGIC Investment Corp. was a mere $1 a share and its future looked, shall we say, not-so-good. Today the mortgage insurer’s stock is just under $8.50 a share and the company is earning money. If you had bought the stock back then you would be sitting on gains of 7,500 percent… Today, many MI firms are offering rescission protection from the date of closing, including United Guaranty. To get the protection, seller/servicers must submit to a full-file loan review… Meanwhile, the deadline has passed for all interested parties to submit their comments on mortgage insurer “eligibility” standards proposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. As might be expected, the MIs are urging the FHFA to ease the proposed capital requirements. For more on the story, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Finance. MORTGAGE DATA POINT: Jumbo originations were strong in the second quarter compared to the first, but when you look at the half-year volume compared to last year, it’s ugly. But not for everyone. Among the top 20 jumbo producers, three firms showed gains in 1H14 compared to 1H13: Guaranteed Rate, Navy Federal FCU, and Banc of California, according to new figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.
More Companies Finding Non-QM Lending a Low-Production Solution Originations are down. But each week, more and more mortgage companies identify lending outside of the qualified mortgage standard as a way to boost production. What do they know that you should know? Attend the Sept. 24 Inside Mortgage Finance webinar “Unlocking the Potential of Non-QM Lending” to find out. Other areas of interest: Originations, Secondary/MBS, Personnel, Regulatory, Data/Rankings, Mergers & Acquisitions | | | |
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