RMBS

Shadow inventory for residential properties has declined to 1.7 million units in April, according to the analytic provider CoreLogic.

A report released yesterday by Lender Processing Services (LPS) shows a -0.1% drop in the total U.S. loan delinquency rate to 7.96%, while the total U.S. foreclosure presale inventory rate fell by -0.7% to 4.11% in May.

In a new agreement with federal, state and independent regulators, Morgan Keegan & Co. will fork over about $200 million as part of its settlement of prior fraud charges related to its subprime MBS vehicles.

Large institutions are starting to reconsider their obligation to make servicing advances to MBS investors as it takes longer and longer to foreclose and liquidate residential properties.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Mary L. Schapiro spoke today at the American Securitization Forum’s annual meeting in Washington D.C. to discuss the current state and future of the RMBS market.

Pine River Capital Management launched a new REIT Index. According to a press release from the firm, the Pine River REIT Index will provide a means to monitor sector performance in REITs.

Robert J. Shiller, a Yale University economist and the namesake of the closely watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price indexes, has been called overly pessimistic for predicting home prices could fall another 25%.

Bank policyholders suing the New York Insurance Department (NYID) and MBIA Inc. say new documents made available to the public show MBIA senior executives concealed critical information from the NYID about the size of future losses at MBIA Insurance Corp.

If Congress does not act in time to increase the federal debt ceiling, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will likely shut down — cutting off a key source of mortgage credit for homebuyers.

The risk retention proposal drafted by federal regulators is likely to hinder the development of a private securitization market and make it harder to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a new paper by Moody's Analytics.