New deal is the company's 12th non-agency RMBS transaction this year
Imperial Fund, a mortgage investment fund headquartered in Hollywood, Fla., has issued its 12th RMBS deal backed by non-QM performing loans.
The transaction (IMPRL 2022-NQM7), priced at approximately $265 million, consisted mainly of 30-year and 40-year fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans, according to Fitch Ratings. About 43.4% of the loans in the pool are non-qualified mortgaged, 0.2% are designated as safe harbor qualified mortgages (SHQMs), and 56.4% are not subject to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Ability to Repay Rule (ATR Rule).
According to the agency’s expected ratings report, the home price values of this loan pool were 8.6% above a long-term sustainable level (versus 12.2% on a national level as of October 2022, up 1.2% since last quarter) due to Fitch’s updated view on sustainable home prices.
“Underlying fundamentals are not keeping pace with the growth in prices, resulting from a supply/demand imbalance driven by low inventory, favorable mortgage rates and new buyers entering the market,” Fitch wrote in the report. “These trends have led to significant home price increases over the past year, with home prices rising 15.8% YoY nationally as of July 2022.”
Read next: Tell-tale signs your non-QM lender partner’s not in it for the long run
The borrowers in the new deal also have “relatively strong credit profiles,” with a 725 WA model FICO score, according to Fitch. Eighty-one (81) of the loans in the pool were underwritten to foreign nationals with an assumed FICO score of 650. Fitch confirmed there are no sanctioned borrowers in the pool.
A&D Mortgage – Imperial’s affiliate non-QM correspondent lender – originated all of the loans in the transaction, while Nationstar Mortgage served as the master servicer.
Despite a slowing market, Imperial Fund has become a regular issuer as it continues to expand its non-QM loan portfolio.
