ABS

Fannie Mae plans to put in place a new head of its single-family mortgage business on June 1 ahead of a retirement set to take place at the end of the month.

Fixed mortgage rates eased slightly this week, according to Freddie Mac.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook for a number of European structured finance sectors as the global economic downturn continues to weigh on the performance of securitization transactions in the region.

Real estate investment firm Redwood Real Estate Partners said yesterday that it has launched a new investment fund focused on the distressed residential real estate market called Occasio Distressed Residential Fund or Occasio ResCap, a release from Redwood stated.

The Bank of England committee voted to continue with its asset purchase program financed by the issuance of central bank reserves and to increase its size by £50 billion ($79.25) to a total of £125 billion.

Avenue Capital Group, a New York-based hedge fund founded by Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner, has decided not to sell its high yield bond and leveraged loan division due to the recent rally in the markets.

Extremely high redefaults are forcing Fannie Mae to scale back its HomeSaver Advance program, which uses small personal loans to enable delinquent homeowners to catch up on their mortgage payments.

The chairman of a House Financial Services Committee panel yesterday suggested Congress ought to consider legislation making it easier for investors to sue credit rating agencies for "grossly inaccurate" ratings, as lawmakers sharply criticized the agencies for their failure to accurately rate structured finance products and other securities.

Lewtan Technologies, provider of ABSNet, released a new product called ABSNet Loan.

Mission Capital Advisors said it is currently accepting bids for a commercial real estate mortgage loan and real estate owned (REO) portfolio with a $441 million outstanding balance.

The House passed by a 367-54 vote a bill that revamps the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Hope for Homeowners' program and gives the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary discretion in setting insurance premiums on refinancings of underwater borrowers.

Some European CLO transactions may be susceptible to undercollateralization event of default triggers (EoD triggers) if leveraged loan prices continue at depressed levels and cumulative defaults reach 25% over the next two years, according to Fitch Ratings.

Mortgage applications were mixed again this week. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the Refinance Index rose a modest 4.5% to 4794.4 for the week ending May 15, while the Purchase Index fell 4.4% to 254.

The Federal Reserve Board said that starting in July, certain high-quality CMBS issued before Jan. 1 or legacy CMBS will become eligible collateral under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF).

Wyndham Worldwide Corp. is in the market with a $100 million timeshare ABS transaction.

Two main business units that used to make up Friedman Billings Ramsey Group, Arlington, Va., are going for the full divorce.

After more than a week of debate, the Senate approved legislation on Tuesday that would enact sweeping credit card reform.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner rejected calls Monday to cap executive compensation for bankers whose institutions got Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds, instead saying the government should focus on curbing incentives for high-risk activity.

Commercial real estate prices fell 1.7% in March and they are down 20.8% from year-ago levels, according to a measure of property prices published by Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday.

Private label MBS — in particular subprime and alt-A loans — continue to be a "significant issue" for all the housing GSEs and have caused $26 billion of losses and impairments at these firms, according to a new report issued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).