RMBS

Foreclosure doesn't usually mean coming down in the world, economists at the Federal Reserve have found.

Originations of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed loans fell 23% during the first three quarters of fiscal 2011 compared to the same period a year earlier, a further sign of a weakening single-family market.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued an Investor Alert warning investors not to choose risky yet high-reward asset classes over more traditional investments.

Standard & Poor’s found that default rates on U.S. residential mortgage loans continued to fall in June, but the firm is cautious about the remaining threat posed by shadow inventory.

In January all the mortgage industry was aflutter with talk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac —under the tutelage of their regulator — were weighing a change to minimum servicing fees.

Mortgage industry groups are calling for the creation of a strong safe harbor clause that will shield lenders from litigation if they originate loans that comply with ‘Qualified Mortgage’ underwriting standards.

As Washington's banking-policy community was focused on the first anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, one important player in the law's passage was noticeably absent.

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) filed another suit last week against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) over MBS sold to WesCorp Federal Credit Union, the one-time $34 billion corporate that failed in 2009.

Cohen & Steers, an asset manager specializing in real estate, predicts that U.S. REITs will boost dividends by 10% a year for the next five years.The sunny outlook, which cites a recovery in cash flows, comes in spite of the continued woes of many segments of the U.S. housing markets and the sluggish economic recovery.

Mortgage, housing, and even local politicians are stepping up pressure on congressional appropriators to extend the maximum $729,750 loan limit on government-backed loans for another year, fearing that a failure to act will damage already stressed real estate markets.