ABS

President Barack Obama nominated Fannie Mae chief executive Herbert Allison Friday to be the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial stability, putting him in charge of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing April 23 on a regulatory reform bill that would restrict nonprime mortgage lending and lender compensation.

Citigroup reported $1.9 billion in net credit losses on its residential mortgage portfolio in the first quarter, up from $887 million a year ago, due to a "continued rise" in delinquencies, the company said.

GMAC Mortgage said it is hiring new staffers at its nationwide lending and servicing centers. On April 13, the company joined the Home Affordable Modification Program and the hires are needed to accommodate the increase in loan modifications, as well as the recent surge in refinance activity.

Irish Nationwide posted a loss of €243 million ($318 million) after the building society set aside €464 million to cover potential losses from bad loans made to property developers and a dramatic contraction of its loan book hit its income.

Standard & Poor's Chief European Economist Jean-Michel Six recently discussed the housing market slump in a public panel discussion for European investors.

Two important tender offers have been launched in the European CMBS market in the past two weeks.

Private investment firm Belstar Group appointed two senior investment professionals Jeffrey Moses and Simina Farcasiu.

Fair Isaac Corp. is offering Mortgage Recovery Initiative (MRI), a foreclosure prevention and management tool based on consumer credit behavior feedback.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Mary Schapiro said yesterday that the SEC will propose new rules for rating agencies, stemming from a broad but "intense review" of how to restore confidence in the financial system.

General Growth Properties (GGP) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier today.

Robert Houston, CEO of the investment management business of ING Real Estate, has announced his plans to step down from the role on Aug. 1.

Citibank came to market with two 144A credit card deals in March from its Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust.

Babson Capital Management has hired Wachovia’s former vice president of structured debt finance as a product manager in its global business development group.

The Treasury Department is providing $9.9 billion to six major mortgage servicers for successful loan modification incentives that will be paid not only to them but to borrowers and investors.

Residential mortgage originations at Wells Fargo and other banks receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) assistance rose at a "healthy" clip in February from January, according to a monthly lending survey compiled by the Treasury Department.

The European Commission's (EC) November 2008 target for adopting the Solvency II framework directive was missed.

Fitch Ratings says the outlook for the global residential market and RMBS ratings remains negative in 2009 as loan defaults are expected to increase while prepayments will slow considerably.

Student loan issuer Sallie Mae is in the market with its second deal in 2009 from its SLM Student Loan Trust.

At a time when most credit card issuers are pulling back, Alliance Data Systems Corp. is trying to navigate the recession by expanding its private-label portfolio.