Refinancing activity increased slightly in the week ending Sept. 14 as new lows in mortgage rates were set.

United Auto Credit and Westlake Financial Services are both planning to sell their respective ABS deals.

The OCC this week issued new guidance to federally chartered banks and thrifts that are lending money to buyers of REO to turn those units into rentals.

JPMorgan Chase Bank-sponsored Scholar Funding Trust 2012-B will be issuing class A notes worth $235 million rated by both Moody's and Fitch.

A report from the FHFA inspector general noted that as of late 2011, the GSEs had placed over 300 high-risk counterparties on watch lists and stopped doing business with over 40 of them.

The National Association of Realtors said that it hopes the Fed’s decision to buy more MBS will lower mortgage rates and stimulate demand in the housing sector.

The independent third-party review firm has hired the securitization expert as general counsel, the company said in a release today.

The second lien market has been on the decline since the housing bust of 2008, but there’s growing evidence that business is starting to gain traction.

The CLO manager said today that it had tapped Jess Larsen for a new role developing and managing relationships with institutional investors in Europe and the Middle East.

Bradley Lerman was appointed as Fannie Mae executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary effective Oct. 1, the GSE said today in a release.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday that it has hired Pete Mills as its new senior vice president of residential policy and member services effective Oct. 1.

Barclays Capital analysts expect that publicly placed issuance for 2012 in the European asset-backed market will exceed their original forecast.