Finance

Lawmakers and financial market participants sparred Tuesday over the economic and other impacts of the Dodd-Frank law, as well as the resulting Volcker Rule and potential new money market fund rules.

The U.S. CMBS pipeline is seeing some activity this week including a securitization from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.

Lenders facing legal challenges with respect to possible violations of the “ability to repay” standards in the qualified mortgage rule likely will face significant loan repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as rescissions in coverage by mortgage insurers, according to the Clearing House Association (CHA).

Industry observers and regulators have taken note of Wells Fargo's dominance among the titans of the mortgage market.

While testifying before the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises today, American Securitization Forum (ASF) Executive Director Tom Deutsch advised policy makers to thoroughly analyze how the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act’s various rules will cause cumulative harm to the securitization market.

Information provider CoreLogic and FICO have together launched a consumer credit risk score that is expected to improve the quality of lending decisions and increase the number of mortgage loans lenders make.

The Obama administration’s refinancing programs are reaching more GSE and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers, allowing these troubled mortgagors to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates, according to a new U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)/Treasury Department report.

WASHINGTON — In its first year of operation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has already proved to be one of the busiest regulators in Washington.

Even before the government-controlled Ally Financial threw its mortgage division into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, rumors were circulating this spring that the “bank” end of the company would exit the warehouse lending arena.

DebtX has launched a new data service that offers analysis and insight regarding the secondary market for Commercial Real Estate (CRE) loans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Monday afternoon released its Loan Estimator form, which will eventually replace the good faith-estimate disclosure that borrowers receive three days after applying for a mortgage.

Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by investors who claimed that the company unwisely invested in a chancy investment fund.

The default rate of securitized private non-guaranteed student loans will be stable but high this year, according to a report released by Moody's Investors Service this morning.

An airport slot-backed ABS that falls under the rubric of a whole-business securitization appears to be approaching the runway. In a pre-sale today, Moody’s Investors Service said it had given a £250 million ($388 million) tranche of the deal a provisional rating of ‘A3,’ well above the ‘B1’ rating assigned to British Airways, which is linked to the payment obligations in the transaction.

Any attempt by municipalities to use their powers of eminent domain to seize and purchase underwater loans out of private-label MBS will face “serious legal challenges” that will take years to litigate, according to a critic of government-backed mortgage programs.

Freddie Mac on Monday said it expects to price this week its ninth so-called K multifamily securities offering for the year.

The U.S. ABS market's post-July 4 issuance is a mix with Wyndham Worldwide Corp. and Sallie Mae joining two auto transactions from Hyundai Motor Co. and World Omni Financial Corp.

While the May prepayment report was all about Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) refinances, June was about the rate incentive that credit-eligible borrowers had as mortgage rates began setting successive new lows beginning in May.

Nationstar, in a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, says it is increasing by $125 million its bid on mortgage-related assets that it hopes to buy from the bankrupt Residential Capital Corp.