The crisis in mortgage lending and the anger that followed the robo-signing scandal has become a crisis of paper. There are lots of new laws and government guidance that all say some version of the same thing—mortgage lenders have to be wary of how their third-party service providers are following rules designed to protect consumers, or the lender may find itself in noncompliance.

The delinquency rate for commercial real estate loans increased for the fourth consecutive month and reached a new all-time high in June, according to Trepp LLC.

CoreLogic's May Home Price Index (HPI) marked the third consecutive nationwide increase in home prices on both a year-over-year and month-over-month basis and and the Pending HPI Forecast shows gains to continue through June.

The American Securitization Forum (ASF) said in a white paper it released today that the single securitization platform for the GSEs outlined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in its strategic plan could eliminate the pricing disparity that exists among the two agencies.

Although ratings agencies have imposed tougher standards for the top-rated tranches of commercial mortgage-backed securities, it hasn't led to greater issuance of subordinated tranches.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)said today in a press release that it has invested $50 million in the first securitization made by a Russian private bank since the beginning of the financial crisis.

In a last-minute reversal, David H. Stevens, the president and chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), will remain at the trade group rather than departing to run SunTrust Mortgage, as he announced plans to do a month ago.

Congress on Friday approved an omnibus transportation bill that also included a five-year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program and a one-year extension of the low rates on federally guaranteed student loans.

In their recent Consumer ABS Weekly, Citigroup Global Market analysts said that the eight to 10 basis point concession for two– to three-year equipment lease ABS is attractive versus auto ABS. They also expect more spread differential compression between these sectors.

Issuance of European CLOs may be stalled, but 3i Debt Management believes that once the macro-economic picture improves, these structured finance vehicles will resume their role as important players in the region's loan market. That was part of the rationale for the London-based firm's recent acquisition of seven European CLOs from U.S. money manager Invesco.

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) doesn't have a direct mandate over the securitization industry, yet it is one of the biggest regulatory wildcards, particularly for deals backed by residential mortgages in the foreseeable future.