Securitization

First Foundation sold loans to Freddie Mac to free up space for higher-yielding credits. It then bought the securities that were formed to replace other, lower-yielding assets through an often overlooked program.

Similar to estimates published by Moody's and Morningstar, the data provider reckons that more than half of the loans are securitized by Fannie, Freddie or Ginnie.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew by 1.6% during the second quarter, benefiting from improved property values and low interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Residential mortgage loan exchange provider Maxex has closed a new $38 million funding round it will use to improve and expand various aspects of its platform.

Increased competition among non-qualified mortgage lenders leading to lower starting interest rates for borrowers should result in fewer of these loans prepaying within one year of origination, said Standard & Poor's.

Moody's sees $10.7 billion of securitized commercial mortgages at risk, Morningstar just $1.49 billion; both say loans in Freddie Mac K-deals account for a significant portion of exposure.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rates are likely to continue to decrease for the rest of the year, as new issuances outpace maturing loans and precrisis loans continued to get resolved by special servicers, Fitch Ratings said.

A decade after the credit crisis, investors are returning to where it all began. The mortgage sector, blamed in large part for the near-collapse of the global financial system, is now seen by many as a high-quality market forged by fire.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposal Wednesday that would require mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to align their policies on cash flows for current mortgage-backed securities, and eventually for a uniform security when it is implemented next year.

Housing finance reform is still likely years away, but a growing chorus of lawmakers say the government guarantor has the ability to clear the path to a final plan.

Caliber Home Loans’ next offering of subprime mortgage bonds includes a new product offered to borrowers with a stronger credit profile than its other programs – but also less equity in their homes.

The dollar volume of private-label residential mortgage-backed securities issuance this year is the highest it has been since the Great Recession, despite a decline in new originations.

The sponsor has increased the credit enhancement on the senior support class of notes on offer in order to offset the slightly higher risk to investors.

The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government billions of dollars but may increase the cost of housing.

Annaly Capital Management will be able to proceed with a delayed exchange offer needed for its acquisition of MTGE Investment Corp. because it has been able to satisfy incomplete deal conditions.

Mortgages originated to finance apartments and other income-producing properties managed to generate an overall year-to-year increase in the first half, even though there are declines in some parts of the market.

New investor appetite for mortgages over $1 million is motivating more nonbank lenders to offer super jumbo loans, often with weaker credit terms than traditional banks.

The expiration of Annaly Capital Management's offer to purchase MTGE Investment Corp. was delayed until Sept. 7 so the two real estate investment trusts have more time to satisfy deal conditions.

The investors initially won the right to sue as a group in 2015 before an appeals court reversed the ruling; the $13 billion lawsuit can now proceed as a class action.

TPG Capital is including its newly acquired first-lien interest in a Microsoft-leased office campus in Redmond, Wash., in a portfolio of suburban office properties it is financing through a new two-year commercial loan.