Finance

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired Steve Harris for its mortgage department as managing director in the Americas origination sales. The new hire will be reporting into Michael Hokin, who is head of Americas mortgages and securitized product sales at the bank.

Loan modifications have had little impact on the U.K. mortgage market despite the backing mods have received from the government, according to a Fitch Ratings study.

The Board of Governors of the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association (CMSA) has transformed the association into a new organization that will serve all constituencies within commercial real estate finance. CMSA is now the CRE Finance Council.

Existing home sales fell fractionally in February from the previous month but the housing and mortgage industries received a new dose of bad news Tuesday morning with total inventories rising 9.5% during the month to 3.59 million units.

The Senate Banking Committee approved Chairman Chris Dodd's regulatory reform bill along party lines on Monday, leaving the heavy lifting on the legislation — reaching a bipartisan agreement that could be passed by the full Senate — to be worked out later before the bill can go to the floor.

Lewtan has linked its performance data for over 150,000 bonds with internal analysis on Principia Partners' portfolio management, risk surveillance and compliance platform.

As Congress moves to enact a bill this week that would kill government subsidies for private student lenders, companies that relied on Uncle Sam must dramatically reposition themselves to stay competitive, observers said Monday.

CNH Capital America's equipment-backed ABS, which was upsized to $1.07 billion from $822.5 million, has priced.

American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) data showed that commercial mortgage lending rose in 4Q09.

The U.K. government last week presented the results of its consultation with the country's credit card issuers regarding the regulation of credit cards.

The European Union (EU) said it wants banks to pay into an emergency wind-up fund to pay for any future crisis in the sector, according to market reports.

Investment management firm Babson Capital Management expanded its offices in the Asia Pacific region by forming an eight-member team to source mezzanine debt and private equity investment opportunities in the region.

Chase is the latest mortgage servicer to sign up for the Second-Lien Modification Program (2MP).

Morningstar has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Realpoint,a Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organization (NRSRO) specializing in structured finance.

Following the recent departure of group head Douglas Antonacci, JPMorgan has rearranged its leveraged loan sales team. Antonacci left JPMorgan to join Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Excessive concentrations of commercial real estate loans have produced huge losses at banks and regulators need to set "hard limits" on CRE portfolios, according to Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan.

Something strange is happening in the market for MBS: the largest buyer by far is about to leave the market and no one seems to be blinking an eye.

Independent broker dealer Braver Stern Securities hired George Kenny as a managing director and head of institutional fixed income sales. Kenny, who brings 25 years of experience in the fixed income sector, will be responsible for expanding the firm’s institutional sales force.

CNH Capital America's equipment backed ABS was upsized to $1,07 billion from $822.5 million.

The House will vote within days on a bill to end private lenders' role in government-guaranteed student lending.