Finance

Mortgage application activity was mixed, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) weekly survey, with the Refinance Index declining despite a slight easing in the 30-year effective mortgage rate.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Tuesday that Wells Fargo Securities agreed to settle charges that Wachovia Capital Markets engaged in misconduct in the sale of two CDOs tied to the performance of RMBS as the U.S. housing market was beginning to show signs of distress in late 2006 and early 2007.

KKR plans to offer a closed-end fund that invests in loans and other fixed-income securities issued by below-investment grade companies.

Jay Hohman has landed a position as managing director at Cohen & Company Capital Markets.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has critical lending programs for homebuyers, particularly first-timers, but will have to stop endorsing new mortgages if Congress cannot agree on a budget deal with the White House by midnight Friday and the federal government is forced to shutdown.

Delinquency rates on closed-end home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) showed little improvement in the fourth quarter compared to the third, according to new figures released by the American Bankers Association (ABA).

The number of completed foreclosures fell by nearly 50% from the third to the fourth quarters as servicers came under pressure from state and federal regulators to correct their foreclosures processes and agree to a civil settlement.

Discover Financial Services of Riverwoods, Ill., on Monday announced the appointment of R. Mark Graf as its executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief accounting officer, succeeding Roy Guthrie, who is retiring.

Sallie Mae with its SLM Private Education Loan Trust 2011-A. The Moody's Investors Service-rated portion of the 144A SLABS is worth $562 million.

The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) has named Stephen Renna as CEO effective May 1. Renna brings over 22 years of experience in the commercial real estate (CRE) business, holding senior-level positions in legal and policy affairs as well as in trade association management.

Moody's Investors Service has developed an application that allows investors to compare deal performance on private student loan ABS.

The first bid list for the Maiden Lane II portfolio has begun to circulate, according to market reports. The sale is the first since the Federal Reserve rejected AIG’s offer to repurchase the securities for $15.7 billion.

REITs delivered their first-quarter gains in spite of slightly negative returns in March. The FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index was down 1.28% in the month, and the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index was down 1.38%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.04%.

Federal banking regulators are set to release new guidelines Monday that they hope will restore the battered reputation of risk models — widely disparaged as a result of the financial crisis — by forcing banks to improve how they design and implement them.

To clear up mortgage ownership issues quickly, banks and servicers should set up a multi-billion dollar fund to pay homeowners who are willing to accept their ownership of the mortgage note, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) chairman Sheila Bair.

When it comes to the business of mortgage servicing now may not look like the best time to jump in.

Banca Popolare Vicenza has mandated UniCredit Bank, JPMorgan, the Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS as joint leads for its upcoming BERICA 9 prime Italian RMBS transaction.

The Treasury Department late Friday issued its first ever scorecard on HAMP second lien modifications, noting that from April of last year to February, servicers restructured 17,000 junior liens.

Only a "small fraction" of the nation's 3,000-plus counties will be impacted when the formula that determines the conforming loan limit changes in October, according to an analysis by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

As industry participants debate rules designed to restart securitization of private-label mortgages, another corner of this market is showing signs of life: the nonguaranteed portion of loans backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA).