Securitization

The European Central Bank (ECB) has relaxed its collateral requirements for repo eligibility in a move that encourages new ABS activity.

A new German auto securitization deal backed by €427.1 million ($570.9 million) of auto loans from GMAC Bank GmbH joined Europe's new-issue pipeline.

Even with the housing market stabilizing and a settlement between megaservicers and state AGs on the horizon, the mortgage industry shouldn't expect an increase in originations next year, according to a new forecast from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW).

Arch Bay Capital, Irvine, Calif., is testing the use of borrower rewards for timely payment, with the aim of driving better performance, refinancing or modifications.

Arrow Electronics has increased to $775 million its existing asset securitization program.

November was the fourth consecutive month of CMBS delinquency decreases, but office properties are still a concern heading into the next year, according to the latest delinquency index results from Fitch Ratings.

The federal government should create an entirely new secondary market agency for "high-quality" private mortgages that would replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

The MF Global collapse provides an important lesson concerning the effectiveness of the principal or proprietary banking model.

Barclays Capital has a cautious outlook for both residential and commercial mortgage credit, its researchers indicated in their global outlook report Thursday.

In 2012, student loan ABS issuance will likely remain flat at $15 billion from this year, according to research this morning from Standard & Poor's.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE) data showed that private-label RMBS trading activity has dropped about 50% since June.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), in a new comment letter, strongly urged the government not to change the current GSE servicing compensation model, shooting down a Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposal that would pay loan processors $10 per month for performing loans.

The trend of U.S. credit cardholders putting credit card payments ahead of mortgage payments that began in early 2008 shows no sign of abating in the immediate future even as the economy gradually improves, TransUnion analysts said.

A broad range of institutional investors — including pension funds, insurance firms, and sovereign wealth funds — is set to increase their exposure to real estate as an asset class, according to new research from State Street Corp.

Wells Fargo & Co. – as the industry is quite aware – is a dominant force in both residential production and servicing, but it continues to tower above all competitors in the GNMA market.

After rating the performance of its top 10 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) servicers, the U.S. Treasury Department said JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America need to make further improvements before they receive incentive payments from the government.

Federal regulators took another step Wednesday toward lessening banks' reliance on credit ratings by proposing three methods for assessing risk on firms' trading books.

U.S. structured finance is expected to be stable from a credit and ratings standpoint, although macro uncertainties can test collateral performance for some asset classes, Fitch Ratings said in its 2012 outlook report.

The illiquidity of the new-issue, private-label RMBS market is a significant reason for the difficult economic and housing situation confronting the U.S. today, according to CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming.