RMBS

Housing and mortgage trade groups are concerned that federal regulators will propose a narrow exemption to MBS risk retention rules that would impose high capital requirements on plain vanilla mortgages, making them unnecessarily expensive for creditworthy borrowers.

Moody's Investors Service said in a report that the Bank of America settlement with the GSEs does not address the uncertainty around claims by monoline insurers and private label investors.

Mortgage application activity increased 2.2% in the week ending Jan. 7 as refinancing activity picked up.

Freddie Mac announced a $1 billion offering of structured passthrough certificates (K Certificates), multifamily MBS, which are expected to price the week of Jan.17 and settle on Feb 10.

Markit has acquired QuIC Financial Technologies,a risk analytics solutions provider.

Bingham McCutchen has elected 13 lawyers to its partnership. The promotions follow a year when the law firm expanded its key practices in the global markets, including launching its Frankfurt-based financial restructuring practice. It also grew its Hong Kong office.

Fortress Investment Group's managing director and securitized products portfolio manager Greg Finck will move to the firm's traditional asset management arm.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claimed Ambac Assurance — which had $312.8 million of cash in the middle of 2010 — may owe more than $700 million in taxes. Its parent company is bankrupt.

Shares of MBIA jumped more than 10% Tuesday afternoon after a New York appeals court ruled in its favor, dismissing a lawsuit that had contested the company’s February 2009 restructuring.

Builders started more houses last year than in 2009. But where are the buyers?