Are You Ready to Implement CFPB’s Final Rule?
Are you ready? There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty for all of us. Throughout the pandemic, servicers and homeowners have faced unprecedented and related challenges: can homeowners make their payments? Can servicers manage increased loss mitigation and forbearance activities while staff members are remote? Will new rules be provided to […]
Covid-19 Vaccine Hints of a Return to Normal, but for CRE Markets, Uncertainty Lingers
On Tuesday, March 23rd, Citigroup became the first major U.S. bank to declare the future of work will be hybrid. Newly appointed CEO Jane Fraser told staffers that most of them will be expected to be physically present in its offices only 3 days a week in the post-pandemic world.[1] The company joins a growing […]
Biden Administration At-A-Glance: The Nominees to Key Capital Markets Regulatory and Oversight Leadership Roles
As nominees to key positions related to the regulation and oversight of capital markets have been announced and begin the process of being vetted by Congress, this week’s blog post takes a look the individuals selected by President Biden to lead the Treasury, SEC, CFPB and HUD, including their backgrounds, experiences, and the issues and […]
CARES Act Forbearance Relief Expiration – What’s next?
As CARES Act mortgage forbearance periods near end, borrowers and mortgage services providers alike ask: What’s next? According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association and Black Knight, the number of COVID-19 forbearance plans has declined at an increasing rate in recent weeks. Per Black Knights calculations,
U.S. RMBS Market Readies Itself for LIBOR Transition
The structured finance and residential mortgage backed securities market are currently preparing themselves for an event that is being described as the equivalent of Y2K for banking: December 31, 2021, when the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) will no longer be an available index. When asked about the potential disruption of the market on a […]
Congress, FHFA and the GSEs’ Efforts to Grapple with Covid-Related Housing Market Issues Highlighted at House Financial Services Committee Hearing
On Wednesday, September 16th, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria testified before the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) regarding his agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of particular interest to committee members – as well as the mortgage industry at-large– was the recent decision to impose a controversial “adverse market” fee of on refinancings. The fee, 0.5% on refinanced mortgages, was announced on August 12th and had been initially scheduled to take effect on August 12th – only three weeks later. However, the rollout has since been delayed to December 1st after the move was met with significant backlash from the mortgage industry
Freddie Mac STACR Servicer Performance Observations
Fannie Mae is now following suit in the appraisal-free arena by allowing property waiver inspections on some purchase loans. Oakleaf Group analyzed the mortgage
Unexpected Decreases in April 2020 Loan Delinquencies Among Some Non-Agency RMBS Servicers
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Foreclosure and Call Volume Survey,[1] the total number of loans in forbearance increased to 8.46% from the prior week’s total of 8.36%. A total of 4.2 million homeowners are now on forbearance plans[2] These numbers represent the Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) population which includes, Freddie, Fannie, Ginnie and FHA […]
Deep Dive – Moody’s Recent RMBS Rating Action
On April 15, 2020 Moody’s placed 404 classes (bond) of legacy US RMBS on review for downgrade, and downgraded and placed on review for further downgrade 48 classes for a total of 441 classes impacted. The 48 downgrades ranged from 1 to 4 notches. All the classes downgraded are now rated Baa3, the lowest investment […]
Peace of Mind – Collaborating with Microsoft Teams
Is Microsoft Teams on your radar? Some of our large financial services clients are rolling it out, and the consulting vertical I lead (Resource Solutions) at The Oakleaf Group has just piloted Teams. Our greatest benefit thus far (5 weeks in) is peace of mind. Yes, we are saving time, delivering more efficiently and leaving […]
Investment Opportunities in Select Senior Most Subordinate (M1) RMBS from 2005-2007 Vintage
Oakleaf’s Modeling & Analytics group recently reviewed the survival rate of the M-1 bonds supported by various types of RMBS underlying collateral issued during the 2005 to 2007 timeframe. A significant number of M1s are acting like options which are just out of money and are poised to significantly benefit from remediation, servicing enhancements and […]
Wells Fargo Agreed to a Settlement
Wells Fargo agreed to a settlement with several groups of institutional investors in November 2018. The date to be excluded from this settlement is April 15, 2019. This settlement involves two class action lawsuits relating to Wells Fargo’s role as trustee for residential mortgage-backed securities issued pre-crisis. According to the Notice of Pendency of Class […]