RMBS

A study sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed that despite evidence that some home pre-purchase education and foreclosure prevention programs are effective, inconsistent proof of the effect of counseling indicates the industry remains clueless about what works and what does not work.

The conversion of owner-occupied single-family homes into renter-occupied homes has played in important role in stabilizing housing markets that has been wracked by foreclosures, according to a report on rental housing released Tuesday morning.

House prices fell 1.1% in February following a 1.1% decline in January, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city house price index.

Loss severities dropped across all the indices by 1.0, 1.7, 4.9, and 3.2 points to 82.4%, 83.4%, 87.5%, and 90.5% for the 06-1 through 07-2 indices, respectively, as reported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts.

In 2010, commercial and multifamily mortgage origination volumes increased to $118.8 billion, up 44% compared to 2009, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). And first liens accounted for 92% of the total dollar volume closed.

Deutsche Bank Securities hired Douglas Runte as a managing director and head of aviation debt research within its markets division.

Lenore Albert, a plaintiff's lawyer in Huntington Beach, Calif., said the consent orders federal regulators recently issued against the largest mortgage servicers gave her "another tool" to fight foreclosures.

Home prices fell 1.6% in February after a 1% dip in January as the GSE regulator's house price index hit yet another new low since values reached their peak in April 2007.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (FHLB of Boston) this week filed a complaint seeking to rescind the purchase of nearly $6 billion of MBS whose collateral is underpinned by loans to homeowners with sketchy credit.

FICO launched an analytic advance that substantially improves lenders’ ability to identify borrowers at risk of strategic default on mortgages.