RMBS

Close to 96% of the non-agency RMBS that were either traded/offered over the past month had a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 'NAIC 1' rating, according to a report from Amherst Securities Group (ASG).

Lewtan appointed Salil Donde as chief executive officer. Donde joins Lewtan from Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, a provider of essential property information solutions.

Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks said C.T. Hill, its corporate executive vice president and head of consumer banking and mortgage, would now have his primary focus on the company's mortgage business.

Bank of America Corp. may settle a state and federal probe of foreclosure practices in a deal that allows New York to proceed with an inquiry into securitizations, said a Bloomberg report citing two people with direct knowledge of the talks.

Mortgage application activity increased a modest 4.1% in the week ending Aug. 12 despite further declines in mortgage rates, reported the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) this morning.

The Knights of Columbus late Tuesday said in a press release that it has expanded a case against the Bank of New York as trustee for 18 RMBS trusts originally issued by Countrywide with additional claims of breach of contract, among other things.

The list of objections to the risk retention proposal appears endless.

Eight MBS lawsuits filed against Countrywide Financial Corp., now a subsidiary of Bank of America Corp., have been consolidated into one case in California.

Conventional refinance mortgage application numbers affected by low rates during last week's market volatility are expected to come in roughly around 20% lower than they were when the Mortgage Bankers Association's application index hit its peak last year, according to a Credit Suisse report Monday.

Distinctive features related to principal forgiveness in an unusual modification program Ocwen recently started could improve efforts made to resolve underwater loans in securitizations, according to a Moody's Investors Service report Monday.