Applications for new mortgages jumped 9.3% for the week ending September 23, a sign that ultra low rates are finally spurring new business activity.

With the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up in the air, credit unions should pool their resources to create an alternative entity that can handle securitization and other functions currently fulfilled by the two government-sponsored entities.

Consumer Portfolio Services (CPS) priced its second rated term securitization in 2011. The transaction is CPS's third senior subordinate securitization since 1993.

The Rhode Island Student Loan Authority is marketing a new student loan ABS. The deal offers offer $18 million of 2011 series A bonds and remarkets $15 million of 2088 series B-5 bonds.

The second edition of Mortgage-Backed Securities: Products, Structuring, and Analytical Techniques was recently released by John Wiley & Sons.

Babson Capital Management has closed a $500 million CLO, its first since the financial crisis, the Springfield, Mass.-based firm said today.

Moody’s Investors Service in a recent report warned of the danger posed to Hungarian covered bonds of a Sept. 19 law that allows mortgages denominated in foreign currency to be repaid in Hungarian forints. The exchange rate for the switchover represents a discount from the prevailing one.

Another auto-related deal is coming to the market. World Omni Financial Corp. filed an S-3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a securitization under its World Omni Automobile Lease Securitization Trust.

Standard & Poor's, Moody's Corp. and Fitch won dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that their ratings of nonprime MBS were faulty and caused five Ohio public employee pension funds to buy into these money-losing investments.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Tuesday afternoon released a 37-page "talking paper" on changing GSE servicing fees, while noting that Ginnie Mae compensation – for now – will not be part of the discussion.

Overall, mortgage application activity increased 9.3% in the week ending Sept. 23 with the Refinance Index, specifically surging 11.2% to ~4240.

Standard & Poor's placed Assured Guaranty Corp. and Assured Guaranty Re on negative CreditWatch for significant concentration risk in its insured portfolio.