Finance

Ally Financial is actively considering putting its ailing Residential Capital Corp. (ResCap) mortgage lending unit into bankruptcy, according to a report from Dow Jones.

Not surprisingly, mortgage application activity rose 10.3% in the week ending Nov. 4.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker blamed financial lobbyists for overcomplicating the Volcker rule at a university talk in Singapore, according to a Reuters report.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is forecasting CLO issuance for 2012 of $15 billion, only marginally higher than the level it anticipates for the current year.

The recent prime auto ABS spread movements and new-issue pricing show that ABS investor demand for the product might be somewhat uneven, according to a Wells Fargo report released this afternoon.

There has been significant investor and Street apathy toward the non-agency market, FTN Financial analysts said in a report released this afternoon.

The annual fight over whether to allow the government to back higher-priced mortgages is shaping up to be a key proxy in a larger ideological war over housing finance reform.

Walter Investment Management Corp. posted a $61.7 million loss in the third quarter, citing higher operating and debt costs tied to its purchase of specialty servicer Green Tree Servicing, St. Paul, Minn.

PIMCO has boosted its portfolio management analytics team by appointing three new investment professionals in its New York and London offices.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) pilot program that requires firms to report an ABS transaction no later than the business day after the date of execution will expire on Nov. 18.

European issuers managed to get deals priced last week in the face of growing uncertainty over Europe's sovereign debt crisis, but at a cost.

The Prestwick Mortgage Group is selling a $406 million package of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights for an undisclosed mortgage banking firm.

Although the chances are slim, the conforming loan limit in a few high-cost housing markets could rise on Jan. 1.

Freddie Mac is offering its fourth structured passthrough certificates (K Certificates) deal backed by multifamily mortgages with a seven-year term.

Bondholders face a payment reversal event for the European Talisman-5 Finance plc CMBS deal. It's the second reversal event to occur this year in a European CMBS.

The odds that Citigroup's $285 million securities settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would avoid the courtroom of Judge Jed Rakoff were 97%.

A homeowner defense association has accused New York's largest foreclosure law firm of inappropriate behavior and asked the state's top judge to stop any foreclosure cases the firm handles.

Domestic banks are the largest holders of securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and similar entities, according to data from the Federal Reserve. (About half of banks' securities portfolios are made up of mortgage bonds backed by the government.)

Lender Processing Services (LPS) hired Nancy Murphy as vice president of investor relations.

Home prices fell 1.1% in September from the prior month and the outlook for the coming winter months – when sales tend to slow – are anything but positive, according to a new report from CoreLogic.