ABS

The increased number of European banks and other originators making tender offers to buy back their structured finance issues primarily reflect these originators taking advantage of opportunities to optimize their funding profiles and capital structure, said Fitch Ratings in a report.

Auto issuance has dominated the list of deals that have come to market thus far in time for the Term ABS Loan Facility’s (TALF) Sept. 3 subscription date.

Jeffery Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Va., said yesterday that

Lending through the Federal Reserve Board's discount window edged down less than 1% during the past week, to $105.8 billion Wednesday.

Broker dealer and investment bank Newbridge Securities Corp. released its Newbridge Bond Center platform to its public Web site www.newbridgesecurities.com.

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) released a report yesterday addressing the role of insurance securization as a building block of alternative insurance risk transfer arrangements (ART). The paper identifies and discusses the key recent developments in the sector, focusing specifically on the regulatory, supervisory and operational dimensions.

In preparation for next's week Term ABS Loan Facility (TALF) subscription date, auto ABS transactions eligible under the program are being rolled out.

Moody’s Investors Service cautioned that with the U.K. economy in recession and unemployment, personal insolvencies and house possessions all rising sharply, the performance of prime mortgages will probably continue deteriorate.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has named H. Ronald Weissman chairman of the Federal Home Loan Banks' Office of Finance.

Federal regulators are seeking information from banks and thrifts on how a new accounting rule on securitized assets will impact their balance sheets and capital levels.

The New York Federal Reserve posted late yesterday the list of bonds that were accepted

Freddie Mac's weekly report on mortgage rates on average remained almost the same for fixed-rate mortgage rates.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a bulletin to banks Wednesday requiring them to disclose to customers their right to reject certain upcoming credit card changes.

Barclays Capital is said to be shopping a three-year deal in what would be the first sign of primary issuance in U.K. RMBS sector since the market shut down over a year ago, according to market reports.

New-home sales unexpectedly spiked 9.6% in July following a 9.1% rise in June, another sign that the housing market could indeed be on the mend.

With the Term ABS Loan Facility (TALF) and the Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP) the only games in town currently in the ABS market , the Information Management Network (IMN) has fittingly made these programs the focus of its upcoming 15th Annual ABS East conference.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Market Composite Index (MCI) increased 7.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Aug. 21, driven by refinancings, which zoomed even as the average rate for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased nine basis points.

Bank of America (BofA) maintained its perch as the nation's largest residential servicer in the second quarter but its portfolio declined by 2% compared to the first quarter, a sign that the refinancing boom could be wreaking havoc on its ability to recapture its own customers.

National Australia Bank (NAB) appointed Steve Lambert as global head of debt markets at the firm.

Pick up just about any city's newspaper or turn on any news show, and if the topic is real estate, the banking industry is likely being lambasted for foreclosing on troubled homeowners.