One of the most controversial elements of the Dodd-Frank Act — a proposed ban on proprietary trading and limitations on private equity investments — is set to be unveiled by regulators in the coming days.

The average 30-year conventional fixed mortgage rates fell below 4 percent for the first time in history this week following a sharp drop in 10-year Treasuries early in the week as concerns over a global recession grew, according to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac.

The European Central Bank (ECB) said it will resume its covered-bond purchases starting in November and will offer banks two additional unlimited loans of 12 and 13-month as part of its measures to keep Europe liquid and avoid a new crisis.

German-based Styrolution Group has closed a €500 million ($667 million) trade receivables program, according to a release from Finacity Corp., which helped structured the deal and serves as the administrator.

Mortgage foreclosure vendor Lender Processing Services on Wednesday named Hugh R. Harris president and chief executive officer effective immediately.

In dealing with mortgage issues, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to ensure that customers have access to home loans—and that residential lenders have access to the secondary market.

The aggregate value of CMBS commercial real estate loan collateral priced by DebtX in August rose to 85.9% from 85.3% the previous month, according to a Wednesday report from the company.

More than a year after Congress banned certain trading activities at banks in the Dodd-Frank Act, regulators will meet publicly Tuesday to discuss implementing the ban.

Spain’s pharmaceutical lobby is negotiating a plan to sell state-guaranteed securities backed by €5.4 billion ($7.1 billion) of unpaid bills, according to a Bloomberg report.

Moody's Investor Service downgraded Italy to 'A2' with a negative outlook, from 'Aa2' but the agency said that for Italian structured finance deals, 'Aaa' ratings are still achievable.

A new SME guarantee scheme announced by the U.K. government could be positive for SME ABS issuance and would align the U.K. with its European peers.

Despite mortgage rates at their lowest since the 1940s, "potential borrowers largely remained on the sidelines," said Mike Fratantoni, Mortgage Banker's Association's vice president of research and economics.