RMBS

The 30-year conventional speeds in December were slightly slower versus expectations of a slight increase.

Citigroup is soliciting potential buyers for its subprime lending unit CitiFinancial, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing sources it did not identify.

Covered bond issuance is off to a strong start with at least 12 deals being marketed from issuers across Europe.

The California Association of Realtors, whose members are frustrated by the dearth of short sales, has created a task force to examine the shortcomings of the government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program.

Daniel Mudd, the former chief executive of Fannie Mae, once said that fighting the company's regulators and critics was "like having an argument with your spouse. There's no use in being right. You have to find the way forward."

Interactive Mortgage Advisors (IMA), Denver, has closed on the sale of $502 million of bulk mortgage servicing rights backed by Fannie Mae loans in North Carolina.

Although GSE reforms could open up some additional conforming mortgage flow into the private label RMBS sector, there is still a very limited amount of mortgage origination to securitize.

While Bank of America's settlement with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae provides greater clarity for its ultimate exposure regarding representations and warranty losses, there is still uncertainty for the bank holding company regarding losses in the areas the deal does not cover, a report from Fitch Ratings said.

Mortgage rates slipped a few basis points in the week ending Jan. 6. According to Freddie Mac, 30-year. fixed mortgage rates averaged 4.77% with an average 0.8 point, down nine basis points from last week. Still, the no-point rate remains near 5% and removes many borrowers from the refinancing window.

Shares of MBIA jumped by nearly one-third in the last week as traders bet that the bond insurance holding company will win or settle a series of lawsuits.