RMBS

The $65 million Citigroup loan made to Waypoint Real Estate Group for investments in distressed single-family houses converted to rentals, may be a precursor to the much anticipated securitization of these assets.

The Federal Open Market Committee surprised the market in that the announced MBS buying was limited to agency fixed-rate MBS only and not Treasurys, although it will continue Operation Twist through yearend as scheduled.

The Federal Housing Administration has opened the bids for its Sept. 12 sale of 5,000 nonperforming formerly insured FHA loans and the results are “very, very positive,” acting commissioner Carol Galante said.

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., is working a bill that would encourage the re-emergence of a private-label securities market by exempting certain loan pools from risk retention and SEC registration.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opposes a 20% downpayment on low-risk mortgages. It will not use its special rule-writing powers to undermine the Dodd-Frank Act, director Richard Cordray told lawmakers Thursday.

Freddie Mac, after being criticized by the Inspector General’s office of its regulator, has improved its mortgage buyback reviews and could recoup an additional $3.4 billion in damages.

MBS valuations can stay rich and tighten further based on the strong technical backdrop the announcement creates.

The GSEs will continue to “maintain their own securitization operations and continue to issue their own securities,” the Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco said.

The outstanding dollar amount of subprime mortgage debt fell 10% in the second quarter to $374.8 billion as these nonconventional loans continue to “disappear” from servicing portfolios

Freddie Mac reported 30-year fixed mortgage rates were unchanged at 3.55%, while 15-year rates slipped just one basis point to 2.85%.