RMBS

Residential servicers that are part of the HOPE NOW alliance completed 112,022 loan modifications in November, a 10% drop from the previous month as proprietary modifications fell to their lowest level since the fall of 2009.

Gleacher & Co. said Tuesday that it has started a residential mortgage banking subsidiary called Descap Mortgage Funding.

U.S. Bank National Association, which is U.S. Bancorp's lead bank, has completed the purchase of the domestic and European-based securitization trust administration businesses of Bank of America. The deal closed on Dec. 30.

House prices are likely to go down during the first half of 2011 and then rebound in the second half, according to many forecasters.

Mortgage application activity declined 3.9% in the week ending Dec. 24 in response to higher mortgage rates and the year-end holiday slowdown.

Ever since private-label MBS litigation began, aggrieved investors have faced an uneasy trade-off between cost and thoroughness: They must prove their losses stem from systemic underwriting flaws, but they can ill afford the time and money required to bicker over how each loan was underwritten.

While much of the next Congress will focus on making changes to the Dodd-Frank Act, lawmakers are also likely to deal with problems in mortgage servicing.

After months of silence, the Obama administration is close to spilling the best-kept secret in town: what it wants to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

While there are likely to be more settlements between the GSEs and mortgage lenders, a report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) said the price of a settlement "might be too high for some originators who believe that their underwriting standards were strong."

As the economy brightens and capital issues resolve, one question is whether banks will now step out of the shadow of the so-called shadow banking system.