Finance

Kurtzman Carson Consultants (KCC), an El Segundo, Calif.-based provider of bankruptcy administrative services, added a director of corporate restructuring services, the firm announced Tuesday.

There is nothing new about Freddie Mac's "new streamlined, easy refinance" program announced in August, Barclays Capital analysts said in a report released today.

Home prices rose 4.4% in the second quarter on a sequential basis, erasing a 2.8% decline in the first quarter, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index released Tuesday morning.

Perhaps tipping its hand on how the fair-value fight is going, a key trade group is shifting the industry's line of attack.

New regulations will soon restrict a common way of compensating residential mortgage brokers and loan officers.

Lloyds TSB marked the end of the summer holiday with two deals, one that priced ahead of the long bank holiday weekend and a second deal that is slated to begin marketing.

While questions about the rights of CMBS investors in bankruptcy cases and other risks persist, there are offsetting trends that continue to drive the securitized commercial mortgage market toward a comeback, according to Mark Edelstein, chairman of Morrison & Foerster's real estate finance group.

Jumbo loan production — in particular non-GSE jumbos — has increased nicely the past few quarters, but it appears that hopes for a revival in the securitization market for these mortgages may be stillborn.

MBS, especially those paying higher rates of interest than comparable Treasurys, are gaining an increased amount of attention from investors who have been sitting on cash.

DBRS is requesting comments on the proposed legal criteria for European structured finance deals.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) needs to provide guidance to servicers to address an increasing number of seniors who are defaulting on their federally insured reverse mortgages, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General (HUD IG) .

The performance of major bank credit card trust collateral for the July collection period — August distribution date — was positive, according to Barclays Capital analysts in a report released today.

Ever since the housing collapse began, market seers have warned of a coming wave of foreclosures that would make the already heightened activity look like a trickle.

Volkswagen is preparing to issue a new auto ABS deal with fixed-rate notes called Private Driver 2010-1.

Standard & Poor's has appointed Grace Osborne as business leader for U.S. mortgages in the firm's structured finance ratings group.

The number of "underwater" loans fell slightly to 11 million units in the second quarter, representing 23% of all outstanding mortgages in the U.S., according to new figures compiled by CoreLogic, Santa Ana, Calif.

Fannie Mae issued $42.7 billion in MBS in July, up 6.4% from June, and the highest level of MBS issuance since February for the GSE.

The Practicing Law Institute has published the first edition of Covered Bonds Handbook. Morrison & Foerster partners Anna Pinedo and James Tanenbaum edited the publication and wrote several chapters.

Mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the ninth time in 10 weeks with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan bottoming out at 4.36% for the period ending Aug. 26, according to Freddie Mac.

Walter Investment Management Corp., Tampa, has agreed to buy Marix Servicing of Arizona for what the companies call a "nominal" sum, according to a new public filing.