DS News - U.S. Bank

» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 7 A look at facts you didn't know you couldn't live without. Compiled by the DS News Staff Since 2013, the GSEs have transferred a portion of credit risk on around $2.5 trillion of unpaid principal balance, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Credit Risk Transfer Progress Report released in November 2018. Private-label securities issuances increased to $50 billion in 2017, up from $29.3 billion in 2017, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency's "RMBS Trend Watch." RISKY BUSINESS INSIDE THE JOURNAL // ON THE WEB // THE APP SPECTRUM // MOVERS & SHAKERS TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS D ATA B I T S * WalletHub compared "more than 1,200 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 40 key indicators of livability," ranging from housing costs to school-system quality and restaurants per capita. Source: WalletHub's "2018's Best Small Cities in America" 10 BEST SMALL AMERICAN CITIES TO LIVE IN 10 WORST SMALL AMERICAN CITIES TO LIVE IN 1 MONROE, LOUISIANA 33.05 2 BESSEMER, ALABAMA 33.3 3 GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPI 34.01 4 PINE BLUFF, ARIZONA 35.07 5 WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS 35.98 6 ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA 36.54 7 WASCO, CALIFORNIA 36.88 8 EAST POINT, GEORGIA 37.96 9 GADSDEN, ALABAMA 38.62 10 BRIDGETON, NEW JERSEY 38.83 1 LEAWOOD, KANSAS 72.52 2 CARMEL, INDIANA 69.94 3 PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 69.74 4 BRENTWOOD, TENNESSEE 69.64 5 MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS 69.59 6 NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS 69.49 7 LOS ALTOS, CALIFORNIA 69.09 8 LITTLETON, COLORADO 68.71 9 NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS 68.67 10 WEST FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA 68.09 e Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center released its Q2 2018 Housing Credit Availability Index (HCAI). e HCAI tracks the amount of mortgage credit available, as well as the percentage of home-purchase loans likely to go into default after missing payment for more than 90 days. e report released along with the index further distinguishes between the sources of the default risk—whether it stems from borrowers' inability to pay or the products that service their loans. Overall, the HCAI indicated a decline to 5.7 percent from a peak in Q1 2018 of 5.9 percent, the highest the index has been since 2011. is small dip quarter-over-0quarter was a consequence of a shift in the market's composition—while the government channel saw a loss in market share, the portfolio channel grew, and because the government channel has looser lending standards, this has had consequences on the total amount of credit available. A higher HCAI signifies that lenders are willing to take on a greater risk of default and also how easy it is to acquire a home loan. e credit available to homebuyers remains far tighter than it was prior to the housing bubble burst—at least half of what it was in prebubble years. However, because the index also gauges risk from borrowers contrasted against risk from services, it reveals more than just how much credit is available. Because product risk remains negligible, the index indicates that if credit were made more readily available to homebuyers, the risk posed would be slight. Just compare the total risk posed in the most recent index—5.7 percent—with the precrisis standard: 12.5 percent from 2001 to 2003. e report makes a subtly compelling argument that the stress felt in the market from a gauntlet of forces (including rising mortgage rates, affordability issues, and a general lack of supply) could find reasonable respite in an expansion of credit available to prospective homebuyers. is would cause a corresponding increase in default risk, but presumably said risk would remain far below and outside the perimeters of the percentages that preceded the crisis of 2008. e government channel—which, as mentioned above, recently opened up its credit accordingly—represents the only segment of the market servicing less-than- pristine borrowers. "The stress felt in the market from a gauntlet of forces could find reasonable respite in an expansion of credit available to prospective homebuyers." PAGE 20 Partner, RAS Crane LLC COUNSEL'S CORNER WITH Daniel Chilton RANKING CITY TOTAL SCORE RANKING CITY TOTAL SCORE

• Cover