November saw a significant jump in GNMA buyouts for loans serviced by Lakeview. Initially, we suspected that Lakeview was catching up from nearly zero buyout activity in the prior months, and that perhaps the servicer was doing this to keep in front of GNMA’s requirement to keep seriously delinquent loans below the5% of UPB threshold. [1]
Buyout rates for some major non-bank servicers.
Using EDGE to dig further, we noticed that Lakeview’s buyouts affected both multi-lender and custom pools in similar proportions and were evenly split between loans with an active COVID forbearance and loans that were “naturally” delinquent.
The month-on-month jump in Lakeview buyouts on forborne loans is notable. The graph below plots Lakeview’s buyout rate (CBR) for loans that are 90-days+ delinquent.
Further, the buyouts were skewed towards premium coupons. Given this, it is plausible that the buyouts are economically driven [2] and that Lakeview is now starting to repurchase and warehouse delinquent loans, something that non-banks have struggled with due to balance sheet and funding constraints.
Where do the current exposures lie? The table below summarizes Lakeview’s 60-day+ delinquencies for loans in GN2 multi-lender pools, for coupons and vintages where Lakeview services a significant portion of the cohort. Not surprisingly, the greatest exposure lies in recent-vintage 4s through 5s.
To lend some perspective, in June 2020 Wells serviced around one-third of 2012-13 vintage 3.5s and approximately 8% of its loans were 60-days delinquent, all non-COVID related.
This analysis does not include other non-bank servicers. As a group, non-bank servicers now service more than 80% of recent-vintage GN2 loans in multi-lender pools. The Lakeview example reflects mounting evidence that COVID forbearance is not an impediment to repurchasing delinquent loans.
If you interested in seeing variations on this theme, contact us. Using Edge, we can examine any loan characteristic and generate a S-curve, aging curve, or time series.
[1] Large servicers are required to keep 90-day+ delinquencies below 5% of their overall UPB. GNMA has exempted loans that are in COVID forbearance from this tally.
[2] Servicers can repurchase GNMA loans that have missed 3 or more payments at par. If these loans cure, either naturally or due to modification, the servicer can deliver them into a new security. Given that nearly all GNMA passthroughs trade at a significant premium to par, this redelivery can create a substantial arbitrage opportunity, even after accounting for the trial period for the modification.
