The Evolving Landscape of Noncitizen Borrowers in U.S. RMBS

Non-U.S. citizens have represented a small but steadily growing share of borrowers in the post-global financial crisis (GFC) private label RMBS market.¹ An analysis of KBRA’s dataset shows their share increased to 10.4% year-to-date 2025 from 4.1% in 2021—a more than 150% rise over the past five years. This borrower cohort generally falls into four categories—permanent residents, nonpermanent residents, foreign nationals, and ITIN holders—each with varying documentation requirements, credit considerations, and performance. As we noted in KBRA’s Non-QM RMBS Default Study borrower residency appears to affect mortgage performance due to its link to income stability, access to credit, and long-term financial security. Notably, foreign nationals have the highest default rate—defined as being ever 180 days or more…