RMBS

Volatility in the capital markets has pushed industry participants towards safe-haven assets such as covered bonds.

The recent focus on the economy and the jobless rate has, in the popular press, pushed the housing market from the front pages of the mainstream press. The continued weakness in the housing markets, however, is a major factor in the sapping of consumer confidence and the resulting lack of a robust rebound. While housing and mortgage lending remains entangled in a seemingly intractable web of investigations, negotiations and unimplemented regulations, an important short-term goal should be to make headway against the huge backlog of nonperforming loans.

Having proven their mettle in crisis conditions, covered bonds are gaining popularity outside their traditional enclave of continental Europe. A number of emerging markets are looking into the product, and a few have recently made concrete moves. Turkey, for instance, saw its first covered bond a couple of months ago.

It's been a brutal time for executives in structured finance departments across Wall Street since the 2008 financial crisis.

As part of its ongoing efforts to better align the interests of participants in the RMBS market and address the issue of risk retention, the Asset Securitization Forum (ASF) has come out with some guidelines relating to the repurchase of RMBS.

Objections continue to mount against Bank of America's proposed $8.5 billion settlement with 22 major holders of Countrywide Financial Corp. mortgage-backed securities.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said late Wednesday that Robert P. Kelly had resigned as chairman and chief executive due to differences with the board "in approach to managing the company."

Little has been done to buoy confidence that an economic recovery is at hand. A settlement of the investigations surrounding last year’s robo-signing scandal that, among other things, achieves widespread principal reduction commitments from major servicers, could change that — but only if done carefully.

Yesterday the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in its capacity as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed an Appearance and Conditional Objection regarding the proposed settlement between Bank of America and a group of 22 investors being currently considered by a New York court.

Mortgage applications unexpectedly decreased by 9.6% with refinancing activity dipping 12.2% and purchase activity increasing 0.9%, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today.