CHICAGO and MILL VALLEY, Calif., July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) Program and Redwood Trust, Inc. today announced increased loan limits on mortgage loans for the MPF Direct product, which will become effective during the third quarter of 2016. The new single-family loan limit will be $2.5 million, up from $1.5 million previously. In addition, hybrid adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) will become eligible for delivery.

"We continue to broaden opportunities for FHLBank members to realize benefits from the MPF Direct product with the intention to help them--community lenders--remain competitive," said John Stocchetti, Executive Vice President and Group Head of the MPF Program at the FHLBank of Chicago, which operates the MPF Program for the FHLBank System.

The MPF Direct product allows members of a Federal Home Loan Bank that participate in the MPF Program to deliver eligible jumbo mortgage loans through the MPF Program's operational platform to a subsidiary of Redwood Trust. This arrangement adds private capital to the secondary mortgage market.

Christopher Abate, President of Redwood Trust, said, "By raising the loan limit and amending eligibility to include hybrid ARMs, the MPF Direct product will provide additional flexibility to members of the Federal Home Loan Bank System who wish to sell loans into the secondary market."

Six FHLBanks have been approved by their regulator to offer the MPF Direct product: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Des Moines, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco.

About the MPF Program

To participate in the MPF Program, a financial institution must be a member of a Federal Home Loan Bank that offers the MPF Program. For more information, visit www.fhlbmpf.com.

About Redwood Trust, Inc.

Redwood Trust, Inc. is a publicly traded company (NYSE: RWT) and, together with its subsidiaries, focuses on investing in mortgage- and other real estate-related assets and engaging in residential mortgage banking activities. For tax purposes, Redwood Trust, Inc. is structured as a real estate investment trust. Neither Redwood Trust, Inc. nor any of its subsidiaries is a trust company, bank, or depository institution; and neither Redwood Trust, Inc. nor any of its subsidiaries is authorized to accept deposits or trust accounts.

"Mortgage Partnership Finance" and "MPF" are registered trademarks of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. The "MPF Mortgage Partnership Finance" logo is a trademark of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.

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SOURCE MPF Program