Finance

In 2012, student loan ABS issuance will likely remain flat at $15 billion from this year, according to research this morning from Standard & Poor's.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) data showed that private-label RMBS trading activity has dropped about 50% since June.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), in a new comment letter, strongly urged the government not to change the current GSE servicing compensation model, shooting down a Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposal that would pay loan processors $10 per month for performing loans.

The trend of U.S. credit cardholders putting credit card payments ahead of mortgage payments that began in early 2008 shows no sign of abating in the immediate future even as the economy gradually improves, TransUnion analysts said.

A broad range of institutional investors — including pension funds, insurance firms, and sovereign wealth funds — is set to increase their exposure to real estate as an asset class, according to new research from State Street Corp.

Wells Fargo & Co. – as the industry is quite aware – is a dominant force in both residential production and servicing, but it continues to tower above all competitors in the GNMA market.

After rating the performance of its top 10 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) servicers, the U.S. Treasury Department said JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America need to make further improvements before they receive incentive payments from the government.

Federal regulators took another step Wednesday toward lessening banks' reliance on credit ratings by proposing three methods for assessing risk on firms' trading books.

U.S. structured finance is expected to be stable from a credit and ratings standpoint, although macro uncertainties can test collateral performance for some asset classes, Fitch Ratings said in its 2012 outlook report.

The illiquidity of the new-issue, private-label RMBS market is a significant reason for the difficult economic and housing situation confronting the U.S. today, according to CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

Doing something — anything — quickly but poorly is no substitute for taking the time to do what needs to be done well.

Servicers refinanced more than 85,000 high LTV loans under the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) in the third quarter, up nearly 11% from the prior period, according to new figures compiled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The agency MBS November prepayment reports were uneventful and in line consensus expectations on 30-year conventionals.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Refinance Index reversed out exactly the prior week's percentage decline, increasing 15.3% to 3268.7 for the week ending Dec. 2.

Santander is in the market with an RMBS worth £1.1billion ($1.7 billion).

Congress has handed the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) a golden opportunity to increase its share of the jumbo mortgage market, but Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Shaun Donovan doesn't want to exploit the situation.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in a letter to Sen. Tim Johnson (D., S.D.) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.) yesterday asked the legislators to look into Ally Financial's alleged improper foreclosure actions. For a copy of the letter, please click here.

Six mortgage industry groups are urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to preempt from state law new and improved mortgage disclosures, fearing that state interference will muddy and slow the process.

SA Home Homes Loans (SAHL) is refinancing its Thekwini Fund 6 RMBS via a new ZAR800 million ($99.7 million) deal that will be backed by prime mortgage loans secured on residential properties in South Africa.

A key federal regulator is signaling that banking agencies are not close to formulating final regulations that address risk retention on mortgage securitizations.