RMBS

The Inspector General's (IG) office of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is taking bids on a contract to evaluate mortgage servicing rights, according to a 'request for proposal' (RFP) being circulated around the industry.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is urging a U.S. district court to block the city of Chicago from enforcing an ordinance that could increase the cost of maintaining foreclosed properties controlled by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

There are clear signs of stabilization in nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the European Union (EU) after the short-term rises seen from 3Q08 to 3Q09, according to the European Mortgage Federation’s (EMF) updated study.

Interactive Data recently analyzed October agency TBA market activity based on Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) data.

Lewtan is offering Bank of England (BofE)-compliant cash flow models for the U.K. RMBS market.

Third-party review firm Allonhill today announced hired Tammy Schiff as chief marketing officer.

The European securitization market remained open for business despite the looming threat the impending sovereign downgrades can have on deals.

HARP 2.0's first phase is now underway. Seller/servicers that control GSE MSRs appear to be in the best position when it comes to refinancing high LTV Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.The GSE regulator and Obama administration officials had hoped to make the process more competitive, allowing “new” seller/servicers to refinance loans controlled by others. But it now appears that servicer-against-servicer competition won't get under way until March when the GSEs get around to updating their automated underwriting systems to accommodate Home Affordable Refinancing Program revisions.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors (IMA), Denver, is auctioning off a $186 million bulk package of Ginnie Mae servicing rights.The seller's identity was not disclosed. A majority of the loans were funded in the mid-Atlantic and New England area and is heavily weighted toward New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

U.K. mortgage origination is unlikely to grow more than marginally next year thanks to economic uncertainty and steep borrowing costs faced by originating banks, according to a release by Standard & Poor's. As a result, the agency estimates that the volume of RMBS placed with investors in 2012 could hover around €45 billion ($60 billion), a hair over this year's figure.