RMBS

The robo-signing fiasco also has energized overall fraud prevention and management efforts, prompting financial service providers to focus on short sales and foreclosure fraud.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) released its 2011 predictions for the U.K. mortgage market. It expects the U.K. to avoid a double-dip recession.

The Federal Reserve Board is revising an interim final rule it approved in September to make changes to the disclosures required for interest-only, payment-option and 5/1 hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages.

The European sovereign debt crisis that continued unfolding in December led to downgrades of the sovereign ratings of Portugal, Greece and Ireland.

Spanish bank Grupo Santander has agreed to purchase a $2 billion Mexican mortgage portfolio from General Electric Co.'s finance division for $162 million plus the assumption of debt, according to Dow Jones.

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report Wednesday analyzed various proposals for housing finance reform, saying "the weaknesses inherent in the pre-crisis model may argue against returning to that model."

The idea that the interests of troubled homeowners and mortgage investors are aligned — and that they conflict with those of loan servicers — is gaining momentum.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) finalized three rules on Wednesday, including one that requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the size of their portfolios.

Residential foreclosures have been rising for the past six months and will continue to accelerate in 2011, according to CoreLogic analysts.

CoreLogic, as part of its plan to concentrate on its real estate and mortgage information businesses, will sell its employer services and litigation support businesses to Symphony Technology Group.