ABS

Over the objections of several key lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Shelby, the Senate Banking Committee approved Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's nomination on Thursday to lead the central bank for another four years.

Fitch Ratings placed $20.6 billion in bonds in 33 floating-rate CMBS deals on Rating Watch Negative.

The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) has appointed Bram Smith as executive director of the organization, it announced today.

For all of the upheaval the housing finance system has sustained in the past 18 months, the mechanics of the mortgage market remain remarkably unchanged.

Out of an original field of 10 or so bidders, Selene Residential Mortgage Opportunity Fund — which includes MBS co-inventor Lewis Ranieri — has won the auction for roughly 1,000 REO properties that belong to the bankrupt Taylor, Bean & Whitaker of Ocala, Fla.

In setting standards for bank securitizations, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is seeking comment on changing the way residential servicers are compensated.

The Federal Open Market Committee minutes released Wednesday suggest the Fed is still on track to complete its MBS purchases by the end of the first quarter while keeping the target for the short-term Federal funds rate exceptionally low for an extended period.

KfW Bankengruppe said that the securitization markets continue to be in a very difficult situation. Although some transactions took place in the course of the year, a functioning, liquid market is still very far away.

Distressed debt investment opportunities are drying up in the U.S., according to a report. The news follows consistently declining distressed debt ratios.

Two "ratepayer obligation charge" deals are in the market from Potomac Edison Co. and Monongahela Power Co. The deals are $22.4 million and $67 million, respectively.

Federal regulators are giving banks a one-year transition period to deal with the risk-based capital implications of moving certain mortgage securitizations onto their balance sheets due to recent accounting rules changes that go into effect Jan. 1.

Real estate asset manager Buchanan Street Partners has promoted founder and CIO Tim Ballard to the role of president, the firm announced yesterday.

Steps taken by conduit sponsors to improve transparency in ABCP won’t be enough to achieve full disclosure on underlying assets and originators, Fitch Ratings said.

Bridger Commercial Funding said it planned to resume making new loans into the commercial real estate (CRE) space for the purpose of funding commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

Bankrupt shopping mall owner General Growth Properties won approval from a bankruptcy court for its reorganization plan, which will affect more than $10 billion in mortgage loans, the Chicago-based company said Tuesday.

The House Financial Services Committee debated Tuesday how to set up a covered-bond market in the U.S., including whether to establish an explicit backstop, but it was unclear how fast the panel was planning to move on the issue.

Construction of new single-family homes rose 2.1% from October to November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 482,000, a sign that housing construction might finally be on firm footing.

As earlier reported by StructuredFinanceNews.com, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)yesterday released for public comment an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on its treatment as conservator or receiver of financial assets transferred by banks related to a securitization after March 31, 2010.

Lenders don't have to follow the new industry guidelines for representations and warranties about mortgages they sell, but they may save money by doing so — if private securitization ever revives.

The student loan sector is seeing some activity with two deals in the securitization market.