Finance

Wall Street is cranking up the bond machine as US homeowners, finding that buying a new house is out of reach since mortgage rates started climbing in 2022, are instead getting home equity loans and sprucing up their current properties.

The volatility pushed whole loan spreads wider and brought single-asset single-borrower commercial mortgage-backed securitization to a halt as lenders waited for clarity.

Securitizations are breaking new ground and whole loan investors have been active as nonbanks increasingly originate and sell second lien products.

The Detroit company intends to pay at least $1.9 billion of the servicer's senior notes due through 2028, and could cover another $3 billion due through 2032.

The new notes redeem older ones issued in 2018 and address the kind of near-term obligation that analysts have monitored closely at nonbank mortgage firms.

The product, as well as the housing market, is different today than what it was two decades ago, where some feel it was a cause of the financial crisis.

The company wants some holders of bonds due next year to allow a higher debt-to-equity ratio so it can pursue strong returns while managing certain risks.

Besides the investment, Citi was also the sole bookrunner on Vontive's first-ever securitization, made up of $150 million of residential transition loans.

The company anticipates a $139.8 million contingency liability and nearly $60 million related expense in a court battle with Pine River Capital Management.

Most of the contracts in Point Securitization Trust, 1,750 (81.64%), are second-lien as of the cut-off date.