ABS

For the week ending Jan. 21, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 4.99% with an average 0.7 point, down seven basis points from last week, Freddie Mac reported.

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) has set up a new ABCP program Weinberg Capital. The new conduit will issue ABCP in the European market up to a maximum program limit of €5 billion ($7 billion).

Bank of America Auto Trust is in the market with an auto-backed ABS. The $1.5 billion deal is lead by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

High unemployment levels will slow the pending housing recovery, economists speaking at the National Association of Home Builders' annual convention in Las Vegas agreed.

The performance of prime RMBS from 2005 to 2008, while better than other types of RMBS from that timeframe, has deteriorated at a faster pace, according to DBRS.

ABS market players, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts, are speculating that the U.S. Treasury Department will soon be coming out with new Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) guidance.

For investors who expect mortgage rates to rise over 2010, Wells Fargo MBS analysts suggested structured products such as intermediate PACs and PAC IIs.

As expected, CIT Group selected one of its directors, 64-year-old Peter Tobin, to serve as acting chief executive.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is trying to bolster its depleted cash reserves, unveiled tighter underwriting guidelines Wednesday morning.

Mortgage application activity increased in the week ending Jan. 15, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Fitch Ratings placed 23 more tranches of structured finance Dutch RMBS fully or partially backed by the Nationale Hypotheek Garantee (NHG) on Rating Watch Negative.

World Omni Financial Corp. is in the market with an automobile-backed ABS. The $917 million transaction is led by Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank Securities.

The politically powerful National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has started the ball rolling on a new policy position regarding the future role and structure of the government sponsored housing enterprises.

CIT Group, which went through a prepackaged bankruptcy last year, will appoint a new chief executive this week, when the company’s board of directors meets, according to a company spokesman.

IFMR Capital recently concluded a multi-originator securitization of micro-loans originated by four Indian microfinance institutions.

Merrill Lynch Financial Assets announced the occurrence of a monetary event of default (EOD) on a subordinate B loan.

With more than a million homes headed for foreclosure, and hundreds of thousands more in the process or repossessed, how long can lenders put off dumping these properties?

Major credit card issuers' delinquency rates declined in December, supporting the growing belief that loan losses are near their peak.

BlackRock acquired substantially all the assets of Helix Financial Group. Helix Financial, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, provides advisory, valuation and analytics solutions to commercial real estate lenders and investors.

Citigroup marked up the asset value of its residential mortgage servicing rights by 15% in the fourth quarter to $6.5 billion, even though the dollar volume of its portfolio of housing receivables is declining.