Raymond James Financial announced Wednesday that it has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state regulators under which it will buy back about $300 million of illiquid auction-rate securities from retail customers.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is marketing a CMBS deal called Bank of America Merrill Lynch Large Loan, Inc. Commercial Mortgage Passthrough Certificates Series 2011-FSHN.

Freddie Mac will begin providing expanded disclosures on a quarterly basis regarding its multifamily loan portfolio and multifamily K Certificate securities effective June 2011.

Bank of America’s pending settlement related to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Countrywide-issued first-lien RMBS released Wednesday would include not only an $8.5 billion cash payment to trusts involved but also about $400 million of servicing changes and improvements, according to an investor law firm involved.

Ally Financial indicated in a Wednesday Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that it has received subpoenas from two regulatory entities in June that included requests for documentation related to certain mortgage activities.

Although the consumer ABS market is 3.7% ahead of its 2010 pace at the midyear point with $55.6 billion of new consumer ABS issued in 1 H11, several macroeconomic factors continue to plague the sector, according to a Wells Fargo Securities report released yesterday.

At the end of May, the combined number of mortgages 90+ days delinquent and foreclosures totaled 4.08 million, according to a report by Lender Processing Services (LPS).

Garanti Bank has closed its transaction comprising two new series of notes worth $225 million and €50 million ($72 million). The series of notes were issued under the firm's diversified payment rights (DPRs) program called Garanti Diversified Payment Rights Finance Co.

Bank of America Corp. has reached an $8.5 billion settlement with investors over repurchase demands on $424 billion worth of RMBS.

UCM Partners has launched the UCM MIDAS Fund, with $10 million in assets under management.

Mortgage application activity fell 2.7% in the week ending June 24, even as mortgage rates declined to their lowest level since the middle of November.

Bank of America Corp.'s proposed settlement of MBS claims against its Countrywide unit would force private-label investors in 530 Countrywide trusts to accept the bank's $8.5 billion offer, BofA officials said Wednesday.