HMDA: Piggyback Originations Plunged in '07

Originations of piggyback loans declined by 63% in 2007, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to purchase about the same number of such loans, according to just-released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. The HMDA report indicates that the number of piggybacks (where a first lien and a second lien are made simultaneously) fell from 1.1 million in 2006 to 389,150 in 2007. However, the mortgage giants purchased nearly 30% of the 2007 piggybacks, compared with 12.5% in 2006. The Federal Reserve commentary on the HMDA data notes that piggybacks are usually originated to avoid buying mortgage insurance or to make sure that the first lien is below the conforming loan limit (which was $417,000 last year). As expected, the HMDA report also shows a sharp decline in subprime lending. Subprime or "higher-priced" loans fell to 1.9 million in 2007 from 2.9 million the previous year. Nearly 170 lenders closed up shop in 2007 and did not file HMDA reports. In 2006, those lenders reported making nearly 400,000 subprime loans.