There is an increasing number of short sales of distressed residential real estate loans, Fitch analysts said today.

Student loan giant Sallie Mae reported a 36% decline in first quarter earnings yesterday, to $112 million, even as it’s growing private loan business rose by 23%, to $1.2 billion.

Fitch Solutions has launched a new package of bank credit risk indicators to directly assist credit risk managers, CVA desks and corporate treasurers to better manage their regulatory, capital adequacy and risk mitigation requirements.

Freddie Mac reported 30- and 15-year fixed mortgage rates edged two basis points higher to 3.90% and 3.13%, respectively, in the week ending April 19.

The bankcard defaults rose slightly, although defaults for other consumer loan categories dropped in March including autos, Standard & Poor's analysts noted this morning in an emailed note.

A consensus is forming among consumer and housing groups that the ‘Qualified Mortgage’ (QM) rule should encompass a large chunk of conventional mortgages that are being underwritten today.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated support Wednesday for mortgage principal reductions at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

New-issue, private-label MBS backed by either recent vintage or seasoned loans funded since the downturn have generally had some type of mechanism to enforce and/or clarify parameters for repurchases, a Moody’s Investors Service analyst said.The trend has resulted from a slew of repurchase disputes that have risen as deals from the 2005-2007 period of loose underwriting have aged and underperformed.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be more responsive to troubled homeowners seeking a short sale solution or who receive a bid from an interested buyer.

Morgan Stanley filed an S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue under its Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust. For a full copy of the SEC filing, please click here.

The New York Federal Reserve has started a competitive bid process in response to several reverse inquiries for the MAX CDO holdings in its Maiden Lane III (ML III) portfolio.

Residential Capital's (ResCap), Ally Financial's troubled mortgage unit, missed coupon payment indicated that it is heading toward bankruptcy. The firm might also be using the threat of a bankruptcy to get investors to reduce ResCap's debt burden, according to a Barclays Capital securitization research note.