RMBS

The U.K. Financial Services Authority (FSA) will apply banking book risk weights to securitization trading positions following the position adopted under the capital requirements directive (CRD 3) passed by the European Parliament at the end of July.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairman Sheila Bair said Tuesday the agency would soon publish an interim rule on its new resolution authority over systemically important banking companies and certain nonbanks.

Cole Real Estate Investments hired William Broms as director of acquisitions. The move was announced by Marc Nemer, president of the firm.

Mortgage bankers originated $25.9 billion of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgages in July, down nearly 2% from June, according to new figures released by the agency.

Mortgage rates continue to set new record lows with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate based on the Freddie Mac'sweekly survey dropping to below 4.40% with the no-points rate slightly over 4.50%.

The securitization market just can't seem to get a break. From tougher regulations to a battered economy, our industry seems at times to be facing an all-out assault.

Loan modifications are being credited with playing a key role in the improving delinquency picture for home mortgages, but housing economists and analysts caution that the industry isn't out of the woods quite yet.

While it's clear that tighter rules for securitization are on their way, varying approaches to the issue by different agencies are making bankers and issuers uneasy.

The Federal Reserve announced in August that the central bank would be purchasing Treasurys by using the proceeds from maturing MBS to support the country's economic recovery.

While the Wall Street reform bill passed this summer did not directly address the GSEs, it nonetheless affected future prospects for restructuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As I wrote last month, the bill created a series of impediments to any timely revival of the private-label MBS market, making the housing markets highly dependent on agency-backed funding. As a result, GSE reform will be limited by the need to avoid short-term disruptions that would freeze financing for the housing markets.