RMBS

In the past few years the market has seen a considerable minority of borrowers who are behind on their 1st mortgage continue to pay their 2nd mortgage, according to Amherst Securities Group (ASG) analysts.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.22% of all loans outstanding as of the end of 4Q10. This amounts to a 91 basis point decrease from 3Q10, and a 125 basis point drop from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey.

Congress never intended federal regulators to set high down payment requirements on 'qualified residential mortgages' (QRM), according to three senators who wrote the original QRM language.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform late Wednesday issued a subpoena, asking Bank of America to hand over all documents related to Countrywide Financial's 'Friends of Angelo' (FoA) program by March 7.

Wells Fargo has dramatically lowered credit score requirements for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages, the first major lender to do so following pressure from the agency and housing advocates.

Fixed related mortgage rates eased off their recent highs for the week ending Feb. 17. According to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 5.0%, down five basis points, with a 0.7 average point.

The National Information Center has just released 4Q10 consolidated financial statements for bank holding companies.

Federal regulators and state Attorneys General may be close to a settlement with several major mortgage servicers over foreclosure processing violations, according to Federal Housing Commissioner David Stevens.

Alarmed by significant deficiencies uncovered as part of a regulatory review of mortgage servicer practices, the federal banking agencies are preparing formal enforcement actions against the largest servicing firms that they hope will set de facto standards across the industry, according to sources familiar with the situation.

As reported by StructuredFinanceNews.com yesterday (see related story), Redwood Trust on Tuesday filed notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell a $292 million MBS backed by Jumbo mortgage loans.