State Street Global Markets' Investor Confidence Index(ICI) for March 2012 showed that the outlook of both American and European institutional investors improved.

The CRE Finance Council Europe and Ernst & Young released a joint European commercial real estate lending tax guide.

Nomura Securities analysts said that since the start of 2012, they have seen an issuance surge in equipment ABS sector with roughly $3.7 billion issuance across five deals versus $1.65 billion issued in the first three months of last year.

It is hard to deny Richard Cordray's hiring to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) nearly four months ago is a flash point in continuing debates over regulatory appointments and implementing the Dodd-Frank Act.

Analytics provider CoreLogic has a new service to assist originators identify potential loans that can fall under the Home Affordable Refinance Program 2.0 (HARP 2.0).

Volumes for non-investment grade bonds steadily increased throughout 1Q12, with three spikes happening on Jan. 19th, Feb. 8 and 28 that coincided with the dates of the New York Federal Reserve’s Maiden Lane II sales, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch data.

HSBC's residential lending and servicing business continues to be under what the bank calls a “strategic review,” leaving its mortgage workers in limbo.Servicing advisors say the bank has considered selling its Depew, N.Y., servicing platform and its roughly $42 billion of receivables, but hasn't liked the bids offered thus has far.

Swiss Re has done a $200 million 144A multi-peril natural catastrophe risk deal via Combine Re. This offering is the first catastrophe bond to combine the risks of two reinsured parties.

In a note released this morning, Standard & Poor's analysts said that without the potential regulatory hurdles, the conduit B-piece demand will be sufficient to support the estimated CMBS issuance this year.

New York's Suffolk County's tobacco ABS is in the market. The deal, worth $38.1 million, is called Suffolk Tobacco Asset Securitization Corp. Series 2012.

The CMBS market paralleled broader markets last week with buyers preparing for quarter end. The spreads were roughly unchanged week-over-week as trading volume slowed, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts.

Bankrupt bond insurer Ambac Financial Group had a net loss of $963 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.