RMBS

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported an increase in both refinance and purchase activity in the week ending April 15 with applications up 5.3% overall.

Refinancings caused loan production to spike in the fourth quarter but independent residential lenders experienced a 24% decline in how much they earned per loan, according to a new report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The European Union (EU) and U.S. regulators might be on the same page when it comes to trying to get the securitization market to be more risk averse. However, their different approaches have left a gap that needs to be eventually bridged, industry sources said .

Ginnie Mae guaranteed over $24.1 billion in MBS in March, the agency announced in a release today.

The vast majority of credit unions reject the Republicans’ plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and insist that the government retain a role in the secondary mortgage market, according to a new survey by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU).

BlackRock hired Jack Chandler as global head of real estate. In this new position, Chandler will oversee the firm's global real estate capabilities that extend across the capital market structure and include both equity and debt investment products that have reached around $13 billion in assets under management.

Citigroup expects to increase its loss mitigation staff by 500 new hires and take a one-time $50 million charge to comply with a federal consent order it signed to settle servicing and foreclosure shortcomings.

Citigroup has sold $10 billion of residential mortgages over the past five quarters as it continues to shrink its “bad bank,” which is known as Citi Holdings.

Single-family housing starts unexpectedly jumped 7.7% in March and the government revised upward its estimates of building activity in February and January by 23,000 units.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is reportedly publishing a letter later this month outlining plans for a data warehouse of underlying loans that back ABS deals.