ABS

Mortgage rates declined for the second week in a row, but remain above 5% for 30-year fixed mortgage rates, well off early December's record low of 4.71%.

The Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appointed the newest members of its national leadership team as the division undertakes its most significant reorganization since its establishment in 1972.

BMW Leasing is in the market with an €834 million deal. The automobile lease-backed offering is led by Societe Generale Corporate & Invesment Banking and West LB.

The new type of ABS DelphX Capital Markets has created is currently on track to launch later this year with the assistance of its new partner, the Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp.

The Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri is in the market with a FFELP-backed ABS.

The Federal Reserve Board finalized a rule on Tuesday that is designed to protect consumers from credit card fees and interest rates that jump suddenly.

The volatile relationship between DoubleLine Capital and The TCW Group doesn’t seem to be showing signs of improvement any time soon.

Liz Padova Hanson joined Barclays Capital as a managing director in the asset securitization origination business in the Americas.

The transfer of large balance CMBS loans to special servicing continues to increase as commercial property performance declines, Fitch Ratings reported.

Freddie Mac announced a new offering of structured passthrough certificates. These multifamily MBS offer liquidity, stability and affordability to the country's multifamily housing market.

Refinancing activity recovered from the holiday decline with the seasonally adjusted Refinance Index gaining 21.8% to ~2407 for the week ending Jan. 8, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Just like GMAC Canada, Ford Credit Canada is in the market with an auto ABS offering.

Impac Mortgage Holdings, a once troubled Alt-A lender that appears to have a new lease on life, is considering making a move into warehouse lending, a business it gave up on a few years ago.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) believes residential originations will fall to just $1.28 trillion in 2010 -- a 33% decline from last year and the industry's worst year since 2000.

Jaymes Financial of Virginia is offering a $61 million portfolio of delinquent residential loans —an auction that is actually a "re-trade" of an earlier sale.

Carlton Group was retained on behalf of various CMBS trusts on the sale of around $307 million of non-performing loan and REO assets located throughout the U.S.

A special report by A.M. Best found that European banks still face significant challenges in managing funding and liquidity.

Karson Management’s specialist alternative collateral provider called Karson Capital closed its $825 million collateral transaction for ING Insurance.

Non-traditional ABS asset classes — including transportation asset leasing and timeshare — are on the road to recovery despite the economy’s depressed state, according to Standard & Poor's analysts.

Sen. Bob Corker has asked the administration to justify removing the cap on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's government financing.