Tag Archives: Mortgage-Backed Securities

Bank of America and the Justice Department are close to completing a long-rumored and record-setting deal to resolve allegations of misconduct sales of mortgage-backed securities that went bad, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

Based on data from Bloomberg, investment bank FBR Capital Markets estimates issuance of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) last month came to approximately $90 billion, marking a "significant improvement" from June and May. However, year-to-date originations are at approximately $633 billion, and with the historically stronger summer months done, FBR expects "the strong pace set in July could slow materially in August, September, and beyond."

Fannie Mae's book of business decreased at a compound annualized rate of 1.7 percent over the month of June, slower than the previous month's rate of 2.4 percent but continuing a streak of decreases that has persisted all year so far. Year-to-date, Fannie Mae's book of business has declined at a compound annualized rate of 2.2 percent.

Leaders at the Federal Reserve voted Wednesday to move forward with the central bank's plans to gradually cut monthly bond purchases, a sign of growing confidence that the economy is trending in a more favorable direction. In a statement released following its July meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee announced it has voted to bring its purchases of agency MBS and longer-term Treasury securities to a pace of $25 billion per month.

Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolio shrank in June at its slowest pace so far this year as new business hit a six-month high. The mortgage giant reported in its June volume summary that its total portfolio declined at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent, down from May's contraction rate of 2.1 percent and bringing the monthly growth average to -2.0 percent.

The ongoing tension between the Justice Department and the House Oversight Committee saw a new development this week as Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California), committee chair and vocal critic of Attorney General Eric Holder, requested the department turn over all of its documents related to its recent securities settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday that Citigroup and the Justice Department are closing in on a $7 billion settlement to resolve an investigation into the bank's sale of faulty mortgage-backed securities. The Journal reports that according to people familiar with the matter, the deal will include $4 billion in cash payments to the federal government, with the rest coming in the form of borrower relief.

Activity in the secondary mortgage market picked up modestly in June, but FBR Capital Markets warns lenders against celebrating just yet. Based on the total issuance of $211 billion in the second quarter, the investment firm estimates total originations were $264 billion for the quarter, just above the $263 billion estimate.

In its newest monthly prime jumbo trends report, Fitch Ratings finds weighted average combined loan-to-value ratios for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deals made in the last few have fallen substantially, fueled by ongoing gains in house prices. Together, the improvement in equity positions combined with stronger borrower credit profiles has helped keep delinquency down, Fitch reports.

On Wednesday, the Urban Institute (UI) issued a report finding that, based on the latest numbers, Ginnie's book of business is now at $1.5 trillion—a rate of growth that has tripled over the last seven years. What this means is that at its current rate of growth, Ginnie Mae will soon surpass Freddie Mac as the silver medalist in the single-family mortgage securitization platform game, behind Fannie Mae.