RMBS

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Monday morning unveiled long awaited changes to a White House refinancing program, waiving the LTV cap and certain origination fees on underwater Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.

The bedrock of the U.S. mortgage market — the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage — may no longer have the same level of bipartisan support in Congress that it once did.

Residential delinquencies fell to 8.09% in September, a slight decline from the prior month but an almost 13% improvement from the same month a year ago, according to new "First Look" figures compiled by Lender Processing Services (LPS).

The Senate late Thursday approved an amendment to restore the $729,750 maximum loan limit on government-back mortgages for two more years.

The backdrop of this week's mortgage activity continued to be about the European Union and refi.gov.

Halifax Bank of Scotland is in the market with a new deal from its Permanent Master Trust program.

Freddie Mac economists are expecting a surge in refinancings during the fourth quarter and recently increased their origination forecast for the period by nearly 70%.

Bank of America said it is receiving more buyback requests for older vintages of loans from Fannie Mae and plans to contest some of these claims regarding breaches of representations and warranties.

Striking a rare note of optimism in the structured finance market, Clayton Holdings is starting up a securitization group to help the private market prepare for the return of non-agency RMBS, the consultancy said in a release.