Tag Archives: Delinquency Rate

Prices on credit default swaps (CDS) involving subprime mortgages more than doubled their increase from last month, extending the rally to an unprecedented seventh straight month, according to the latest index results from Fitch Solutions. Subprime CDS prices rose 1.7 percent overall, though price increases were not uniform across vintages, with the 2007 leading the surge. Fitch says most vintages are in the black for the year. The lone negative outlier is the 2006 vintage.

The Federal Reserve has published a new rendition of its popular Beige Book, relaying insight from professionals in the field on regional market conditions. A number of the 12 Fed districts noted improvements in overall credit quality, specifically Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. New York was the only district to report rising delinquency rates on consumer loans, but it saw delinquencies decline for commercial loans and mortgages.

Delinquency rates among different groups of commercial and multifamily mortgage investors were mixed in the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports. Delinquency loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) reached their highest level since 1997, but MBA says the climb was slower than in recent quarters. On the other hand, delinquency rates for other investors, including Fannie and Freddie, remain below levels seen in the last major real estate downturn - some by large margins.

The number of mortgage borrowers who owe more on the loan than their home is worth decreased slightly during the first quarter, but CoreLogic sees a problem area among homeowners with second mortgages. The company found that 10.9 million, or 22.7 percent, of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity as of the end of March. CoreLogic says the underwater ratio of borrowers with home equity loans is more than double that of borrowers without second mortgages.

Foreclosure prevention actions on loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac declined during the first three months of this year, driven primarily by loan modifications. Permanent loan mods dropped for the third consecutive quarter to 86,201. Short sales were essentially flat at 25,705. According to the GSEs' regulator, even with the drop-off in loss mitigation actions the two companies' delinquency rates ""remain below industry levels."" In the first quarter, foreclosure starts declined while completed foreclosures increased.

The delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) fell slightly in May from the new record high set the month before, according to Trepp LLC. The research firm says the percentage of CMBS loans 30 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or REO has fallen back 5 basis points to 9.60 percent. Trepp says while it seems small, May's decline is actually the biggest rate drop in about two years. The value of delinquent loans within commercial mortgage bonds now stands at $61.5 billion.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both reported another drop in the share of single-family home mortgages they hold that are 90 or more days delinquent. Fannie's serious delinquency rate declined 17 basis points to 4.27 percent. Freddie's fell 6 basis points to 3.57 percent. Except for one blip of an increase last September for Freddie, the GSEs have seen their serious delinquencies fall for 12 months. The servicing alignment initiative announced by the two companies is expected to speed the resolution process for past-due loans.

The U.S. housing market could experience a severe double-dip contraction marked by lower home sales and depressed house prices if Congress fails to raise the federal debt ceiling, according to the Center for American Progress, a nonprofit research group. The Center says inaction to raise the debt limit would spark a return of the economic pain of the past few years as foreclosures would remain at record highs for an even longer stretch. Not raising the limit by early August threatens to put the U.S. itself on the verge of default.

Data released by the FDIC Tuesday show that lenders' are seeing considerable improvement in the quality of loans and becoming more confident that fewer borrowers will default. First-quarter loan loss provisions totaled $20.7 billion, less than half the $51.6 billion set aside to cover bad loans a year ago, and loans and leases 90 days or more past due or in nonaccrual status fell for a fourth consecutive quarter. At the same time, though, the number of banks on the FDIC's so-called ""problem list"" is at its highest level since 1993.

Consumers who only defaulted on their mortgage during the economic recession pose far less of a risk than consumers who went delinquent on multiple credit accounts, according to TransUnion. The credit bureau says its study showed that consumers with mortgage-only defaults performed better on new loans than those with multiple delinquencies, and this was evident across all credit scoring ranges. TransUnion also says it found no evidence that borrowers who stopped paying their mortgage had an increased cash flow in the short term.