Finance

Mortgage rates eased back from their recent lows as Treasurys sold off beginning late last week. This was after the market experienced a strong flight to safety gains and news broke out on Monday that the Treasury will begin selling its MBS holdings.

The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) released its comprehensive and complete market standards for CMBS 2.0.

During the housing boom Robert Shiller, co-creator of theCase-Shiller Home Price Index, stood out (and endured taunting) for his pessimistic views on the market. Now he's in good company.

Discover Financial Services said it has benefited from making fewer bad loans but said much of its growth may actually come from products other than credit.

Goldman Sachs is among a handful of Wall Street banks negotiating with National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) on potential compensation for toxic MBS the investment banks sold to the five failed corporate credit unions.

Roseburg Forest Products is marketing a $295 million securitization called Oxbow Resources Timberland Notes 2011-1.

The more than $113 billion New York City Pension Funds have been granted right of passage by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to present a foreclosure request on big bank shareholder ballots.

Four state attorneys general have sent a letter to Iowa AG Tom Miller objecting to provisions of the 27-page proposed settlement with the top five servicers.

In a recent report, Fitch Ratings said that risks inherent in Brazilian multi-seller/multi-obligor ABS have become more heightened in recent deals backed by factoring company receivables. Generally, factoring companies in Brazil are privately held businesses that buy trade receivables from a variety of companies at a discount.

New home sales fell 17% in February to the lowest level on record with cancellations ticking up again as buyers continue to deal with tighter mortgage underwriting standards.

In a new forecast on the housing market, Fannie Mae economists remain cautious about demand citing "consumer uncertainty" which will translate into declining originations.

Fitch Ratings’ review of 1,246 rated subprime RMBS issued between 1993 and 2008 shows that, on average, losses are relatively stable and expected defaults are still improving, but continuing housing market weakness and foreclosure delays are still driving expected loss severities higher.

The consolidation of AT&T and T-Mobile USA could lead to a decline in cell tower revenues generated from site leases. This could have cash-flow implications for wireless tower ABS bonds.

Aegon Levensverzekering N.V. is in the market with a €1.5 million Dutch RMBS from its Saecure securitization program.

SunTrust Banks late Tuesday named Jerome Lienhard president and chief executive officer of its mortgage division, the nation's 11th largest originator of residential loans.

The 11 banks contesting MBIA’s February 2009 restructuring have long said the regulatory process allowing the move was based on outdated and inaccurate financial information. Now, they have evidence.

Mortgage application activity increased 2.7% for the week ending March 18 in response to attractive mortgage rate levels.

Brazilian securitization consultancy Uqbar said in a report that 2010 issuance of CRIs, the main vehicle for real estate securitization in the country, hit R$8.53 billion ($5.1 billion) last year (see chart below). This was more than double the figure for 2009.

Northern Rock said it is launching its first public securitization issue, which is in line with its agreed strategy. This transaction will diversify both the source and term of its funding base, and will be offered to investors in sterling and euros.

Forthcoming regulations could make conventional mortgages more expensive to the wide swath of homebuyers and owners who can't put 20% down, depressing originations and potentially undermining the housing recovery.