RMBS

The massive lawsuits that the federal government brought last week against many of the largest U.S. and global banks underscore the deepening tension within the executive branch with regard to housing.

Ginnie Mae president Ted Tozer has a problem and it goes like this: over the past 18 months the agency has approved 60 new firms to issue government-backed MBS, but few are actually issuing.

Freddie Mac said it will not dramatically discount its backlog of foreclosed homes, arguing that such steep price cuts could destroy the housing market.

State Street Corp. has launched a derivatives clearing service, complete with a swaps clearing platform.

Americans are expressing their highest levels of pessimism regarding the housing market and the economy in general, according to Fannie Mae's August National Housing Survey.

Bank of America Corp.'s executive shuffle this week supports what the beleaguered Charlotte conglomerate has been telling investors for weeks: It will keep selling unwanted bits of the company and hold on to major business units.

The American Securitization Forum (ASF) released a statement today expressing its dissapointment after the Chicago City Council approved an ordinance on vacant homes.

Clear Capital reported a 4% quarter-over-quarter increase in home prices through the end of August, but the firm is projecting a bumpy future for the fall and winter seasons.

As if there were not enough considerations for investors sizing up the many distressed MBS still out there, it looks now like they should also take into account growing momentum in municipal efforts to get securities trusts and servicers to pay for distressed property upkeep or face fines.

Overall, the August prepayment report is viewed as uneventful for the most part since it did not reflect the sharp drop in mortgage rates that occurred beginning in August.