What loans are in a jumbo mortgage bond? NYT wrong about lender compensation.

What Loans Are In A Jumbo Mortgage Bond?
Details of the latest Redwood Trust March 1st deal are emerging. The $290 million residential MBS are backed by 303 loans, roughly 2/3 from First Republic Bank and the rest by PHH Mortgage. The average loan size is $977,000 with a mix of 30-yr fixed rate and 10-yr Corp., according to the filing, with over 50% being from California. The deal holds an aggregate principal balance of $296.3 million and an average balance of more than $977,000. The loans are a mix of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and hybrid 10-year hybrid loans, and the master servicer will be Wells Fargo with Citigroup acting as the trustee. What investor is going to buy any of the deal without a rating? Apparently Redwood began working with more than one rating agency. Fitch gave the deal its highest grade, but the other two rating agencies (Moody’s and Standard & Poors) offered unsolicited opinions that raised doubts about Fitch’s assessment including questions about the risks attributable to the geographic concentration of the mortgage loans.

NYT Wrong About New Fed Rule For Mortgage Broker Pay
As a consumer, here’s what the New York Times is feeding you about new mortgage loan officer compensation rules effective April 1 that will impact rate and fees you pay for a mortgage. The article requires login, which you can do using Facebook. But the article’s main point is below, and it incorrectly says banks are exempt from the new rules. All mortgage lenders, banks and brokers, must eliminate variable ‘rebates’ they pay to loan agents—a rebate is higher when a rate is higher, and the Fed rules say that a mortgage rate can’t be quoted based on compensation anymore.

“Starting April 1, under a new compensation rule from the Federal Reserve, borrowers who get their mortgages through brokers will most likely pay less for their services and must be offered the lowest possible interest rate and fees for which they qualify. The new rule also affects those dealing with small banks and credit unions, which typically do not fund loans from their own resources. But most banks and other direct lenders, including the few mortgage companies that function like banks, are exempt.”