After coming to grips with the dimensions of two critically important and related mortgage rules, federal regulators have decided that one should be finalized before the other: the qualified mortgage (QM) test.As result, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will go first and finalize the QM rule, ultimately determining which loans are safe enough for consumers while shielding lenders from litigation provided they adhere to predetermined underwriting standards.

While mortgage rates declined to their lowest levels in the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) survey history for the week ending April 20, refinancing activity did not see a corresponding increase.

The Supreme Court of the State of New York held a hearing on the $8.5 billion Countrywide Financial Corp. settlement case this afternoon.

Standard & Poor's today rated a $200 million covered bond deal from Panama's Global Bank, the first of its kind in Latin America.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York set a Thursday deadline for all bids on the MAX CDO holdings of its Maiden Lane III portfolio.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged credit rating agency Egan-Jones Ratings Co. (EJR) and its owner and president Sean Egan for material misrepresentations and omissions in their July 2008 application to register as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO) for ABS and government securities issuers.

Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday morning that home prices fell in February for the sixth consecutive month to the lowest level since 2002.

Fitch Ratings today released a report looking at the global exposure to refinancing risk in the structured finance and covered bonds markets.

The past is coming back to haunt former Fannie Mae chief executive James A. Johnson.

A $20 billion package of residential mortgage servicing rights being offered by Bank of America has yet to trade even though the bidding ended about two weeks ago, according to investment bankers familiar with the deal.

Don Curtis, vice president of business development for Carrrington Mortgage Services, Santa Ana, Calif., has left the company.

Price guidance a new $414 million CLO to be managed by Sankaty Advisors has emerged in line with other recent transactions, according to two people familiar with the deal.