Redwood Trust said its Aspire mortgage banking business delivered more than $8 billion of aggregate volume in the second quarter, with Aspire non-QM lock volume reaching a record $2.1 billion, up 32% from the first quarter.
The company said Aspire recently completed its second and third securitization issuances under the Spire shelf and expanded its correspondent network to 140 discrete loan sellers. It also launched AI-powered engines for non-QM secondary market pricing and guideline comparison and analysis.
Redwood said those tools support unified loan-level pricing and underwriting across bulk and flow channels and are intended to support a dedicated Aspire joint venture. The company said key terms and documentation for that joint venture have been fully negotiated, and it expects to begin contributing loans in the third quarter.
On the consolidated side, Redwood estimated a modest 1% to 3% decline in GAAP book value at June 30 from the end of the first quarter, including its legacy investments segment. It estimated second-quarter economic return on book value at between negative 1.0% and 1.0%, including its $0.18 per share dividend.
Redwood also said it maintained $3.5 billion of excess available asset funding capacity at June 30 after completing a corporate unsecured senior notes offering in May. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved 3.63%, and are now trading at a price of $4.715. For the full picture, make sure to review REDWOOD TRUST INC's 8-K report.
