RMBS

The House of Representatives late Tuesday voted to kill HAMP, the White House's signature loan modification program and to stop the administration from spending more TARP funds on foreclosure prevention programs.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) hired Thomas Kim as vice president of commercial regulatory policy.

Not surprisingly, mortgage application activity declined in the week ending March 25 as a result of an uptick in mortgage rates.

Taking a piecemeal approach to housing reform, House Republicans introduced a series of bills Tuesday to scale back Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Depending on who you talked to, the risk-retention proposal out Tuesday would either restore sensible standards to the lending market or result in a significant credit crunch.

Federal regulators are making it difficult for issuers of all types of MBS to escape the costs of risk retention.

Credit Suisse has filed an S-3 statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue under its Home Equity Mortgage Trust.

Smaller, thinly capitalized investors in nonperforming mortgages could face liquidity concerns in the coming months as private equity investors begin to re-examine their commitment to the business while bolting for higher returns elsewhere.

The Federal Reserve Board also proposed a rule that would require ABS sponsors to retain at least 5% of the credit risk of the assets underlying the securities.

Tom Deutsch, the executive director of the American Securitization Forum (ASF), has issued a statement in support of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s (FDIC) vote today to approve proposing risk retention rules jointly with other federal regulators.