RMBS

The combined earnings of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) totaled $358 million in the first quarter, up 10% from a year ago, the FHLB Office of Finance reported Friday morning.But bad investments in private-label MBS continue to be a drag on earnings at several banks and it pushed the Seattle bank into the loss column again.

Recent collateral requirements from the European Central Bank (ECB) appear to be creating, among other things, some demand for new second ratings of older MBS and potentially other deals.

For banks looking to sell nonperforming assets, pricing realities are not ideal. But they have become increasingly tolerable.

Although a handful of bidders have pondered the thought of buying roughly $40 billion of servicing rights being peddled by HSBC Bank USA, it appears the deal has stalled for now.

Michael Wade will be leaving Credit Suisse. Wade was hired by Credit Suisse from Barclays Capital about a year ago as a managing director and co-head of asset finance in the global markets solutions group along with Tricia Hazelwood.

Home equity loans were part and parcel of the mortgage bubble, and the bust has transformed them into one of the mostsignificant loose ends in a crisis that still appears far from resolution.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today voted unanimously to propose amendments that would remove references to credit ratings in several rules under the Exchange Act.

Mortgage rates declined for the second week in a row and are near or at record lows for 2011.

Fannie Mae reported a 4.2% increase in MBS issuance for March while the other GSEs — Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae — registered month-over-month declines.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded 439 bonds in 244 RMBS transactions to "Dsf." The rating agency explained that the downgraded bonds have all incurred a principal write-down.