Finance

Residential Mortgage REITs in the second quarter are generally likely to continue seeing results more or less in line with the prior one despite a somewhat volatile operating environment between April and June, according to some analysts.

The U.S. Treasury today gave an update on its continued orderly wind down of its agency guaranteed MBS portfolio.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Commercial Real Estate (CRE)/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book for 1Q11, showing the “turn of the real estate cycle.”

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., has drafted a GSE reform bill that would merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and convert them into a secondary market utility that issues government-backed mortgage securities.

Chariot Funding, Falcon Asset Securitization Co. and Jupiter Securitization Co. have together funded a $3.024 billion auto ABS. JPMorgan Chase Bank serves as the administrative agent for all three conduits, which are partially supported, multiseller ABCP programs.

Mortgage application activity declined 5.2% for the week ending July 1, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Mortgage servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) are starting to use principal reduction more often to help underwater borrowers and make their payments more affordable.

A new report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch examines the credit burnout phenomenon and its potential to allow underwater, but not yet delinquent, borrowers to demonstrate their creditworthiness.

American Banker sat down for an extensive exit interview with FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, who will leave office on July 8. Following is an edited transcript.

With the Dodd-Frank Act and Basel capital regime already imposing new requirements on derivatives players, the U.S. bank regulators added another one Tuesday completely of their own accord.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is considering tightening borrowers' debt-to-income ratios, a move that would prevent the most highly leveraged consumers from qualifying to buy a home.

Brokerage firm Laeken International plans to enhance its fixed-income and structured finance products focus by establishing a structured finance strategy and analytics team.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts in a report released yesterday referred to Markit’s iBoxx European ABS index as a “useful tool” in benchmarking and in comparing ABS to other asset classes.

The loan default rate remained at a historic low in June, according to a report issued today by Standard & Poor’s Leveraged Commentary and Data.

When Bank of America Corp. announced its MBS settlement last week, the company warned that activist investors would likely fight it. It was right.

When asked about the still-struggling nonagency market might return, some market participants in New York for the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Secondary Market Conference even took on the controversial question of whether a subprime credit secondary market should come back some day.

After several months of strong performance despite various economic upheavals, auto ABS gains may soon level off, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

The Private National Mortgage Acceptance Corp. plans to make a big splash in warehouse lending and late this week unveiled who will lead the effort -- Paul Szymanski, once a top warehouse executive at the number one player in that niche: Bank of America.

No matter your opinion of Sheila Bair, you always know where she stands.

Discover Financial Services' stock price fell as much as 3% on Friday after the company disclosed that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is reviewing its marketing of payment protection and other fee-based products.