European issuers managed to get deals priced last week in the face of growing uncertainty over Europe's sovereign debt crisis, but at a cost.

The Prestwick Mortgage Group is selling a $406 million package of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights for an undisclosed mortgage banking firm.

Although the chances are slim, the conforming loan limit in a few high-cost housing markets could rise on Jan. 1.

Freddie Mac is offering its fourth structured passthrough certificates (K Certificates) deal backed by multifamily mortgages with a seven-year term.

Bondholders face a payment reversal event for the European Talisman-5 Finance plc CMBS deal. It's the second reversal event to occur this year in a European CMBS.

A change to the Spanish bankruptcy law means that credit will no longer be given to pledges of assets securing future claims in Spanish ABS deals unless they are publicly registered in Spain before a pledgor insolvency, according to Fitch Ratings.

The odds that Citigroup's $285 million securities settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would avoid the courtroom of Judge Jed Rakoff were 97%.

A homeowner defense association has accused New York's largest foreclosure law firm of inappropriate behavior and asked the state's top judge to stop any foreclosure cases the firm handles.

Domestic banks are the largest holders of securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and similar entities, according to data from the Federal Reserve. (About half of banks' securities portfolios are made up of mortgage bonds backed by the government.)

Lender Processing Services (LPS) hired Nancy Murphy as vice president of investor relations.

Home prices fell 1.1% in September from the prior month and the outlook for the coming winter months – when sales tend to slow – are anything but positive, according to a new report from CoreLogic.

U.S. alternative asset manager Black Diamond Capital Management has acquired GSC Group’s London team, a player in the European CLO market, the company said in a release.