RMBS

The Obama administration in January postponed announcing its GSE reform proposals. Experts said that the root cause of the delay is the fear of further disrupting the already fragile housing market, as Nora Colomer points out in this month's cover story.

There has been discussion that since many of the credit-eligible borrowers are out of the refinancing window, mortgage bankers will use the freed-up capacity to concentrate on the harder-to-refinance, credit-impaired borrowers.

After the near collapse of the Canadian securitization market in August 2007, 2010 saw a strong resurgence in term ABS issuance in Canada. Among other things, there were 16 public deals with combined total issuance of more than CAD$11 billion. There were also signs of renewed activity in the ABCP market with conduits taking on new deals with originators who had been largely frozen out of this market over the last few years. Overall, there is a general sense of optimism about the market and, as a result of both market forces and government action, it's fair to say that the Canadian securitization market is, if not perfectly well, at least comfortably on the road to recovery.

Kroll Bond Ratings is set to publish its initial rating criteria and research for structured finance at the end of February, according to James Nadler, president and chief operating officer at the company.

In the aftermath of wholesale downgrades of RMBS by the ratings agencies, following the housing market downturn, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) decided to try a different approach.

Fannie Mae purchased $87.6 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in December, its best purchase month of the year and yet another sign that loan production remained strong in the fourth quarter.

The 'Great Recession' and housing bubble have taken their toll on U.S. home owners. According to government figures released Monday morning, the nation's overall home ownership rate fell to 66.5% in the fourth quarter, the lowest reading since 1998.

The Treasury Department has revamped its short sale program by easing income restrictions and documentation requirements for homeowners facing foreclosure. The changes are effective Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Michael Callen, executive chairman of bankrupt bond insurance holding company Ambac Financial Group, announced his resignation Friday afternoon.

BNP Paribas said on Monday its corporate and investment banking group unveiled an official institutions coverage team for the Americas that will be headed by Timothy Bitsberger, a former U.S. Treasury Department official and treasurer of housing giant Freddie Mac.