Finance

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is changing the way it monitors the loan performance of its largest lenders as part of a rule to clarify and codify its indemnification practices.

This week's activity was largely dictated by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)statement released mid-day on Wednesday. The FOMC's statement effectively aligned the MBS stars: low rates, attractive carry and relative yield, along with increased odds of quantitative easing 3.

Fitch Ratings said specially serviced CMBS loans have been increasing since last quarter and are probably going to continue on this trend.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director of Enforcement Robert Khuzami today detailed the core mission of the new Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group announced by President Obama in the State of the Union address.

A new national refinancing program unveiled by President Obama earlier in the week will rely on the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to refinance private and GSE mortgages, according to a report from Federal Financial Analytics in Washington.

GE Capital is in the market with GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust Series 2012-2 worth approximately $563 million.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will reportedly chair President Barack Obama's new committee investigating the mortgage-backed securities that are the center of several mortgage litigation claims by private investors.

Lloyds Banking Group plans to sell a U.K. RMBS from its Arkle master issuer program, according to a Bloomberg report. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are managing the sale.

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) this morning proposed new rules for troubled debt restructurings that will cover how all federally insured credit unions account for delinquencies, charge-offs and income related to troubled home mortgages and member business loans, as well as for how those loans are reported on NCUA's quarterly Call Reports.

Foreign banks continue to drive volume of RMBS litigation claims filed in New York state court. The latest claim is a $1.2 billion lawsuit against Morgan Stanley filed by German lender Bayerische Landesbank.

JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday told a federal court in Wichita, Kansas that National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) negligence suit against top executives of WesCorp Federal Credit Union proves that it was the shortcomings of corporate executives – and not any misrepresentations by the Wall Street bank’s sales force in the sale of mortgage-backed securities – that caused the failure of WesCorp and three other corporate credit unions.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said President Obama's decision to expand investigations into home lending and sales of MBS could stop settlement talks with the states over foreclosure practices.

The Federal Reserve will not sell any of its massive holdings of agency MBS and Treasurys until 2015 as it strives to keep interest rates low, central bank officials said Wednesday afternoon.

President Obama's decision to create a new task force to investigate risky lending and securitization practices leading up to the financial crisis could complicate and delay a potential $25 billion settlement involving foreclosure and servicing abuses.Participants in the ongoing 'robo-signing' settlement negotiations recently signaled that they could be close to an agreement with the government.

The attorney General of Illinois Lisa Madigan sued McGraw Hill Cos., Standard & Poor's Financial Services and its business unit Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.

Private-label RMBS can experience a significant increase in losses in the coming months, according to a recent analysis by R&R Consulting.

Bond insurer Assured Guaranty has reached a three-part deal with Radian Asset that expands Assured Guaranty’s portfolio and business.

U.K. supermarket retailer Tesco PLC is in the market with its GBP450 million ($703 million) credit tenant lease securitization called Tesco Property Finance 5 Plc.

Fannie Mae's final multifamily issuance numbers for 2011 are in and they reflect a 50% increase from the previous year, according to an executive at the GSE.