Securitization

European issuers managed to get deals priced last week in the face of growing uncertainty over Europe's sovereign debt crisis, but at a cost.

The Prestwick Mortgage Group is selling a $406 million package of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights for an undisclosed mortgage banking firm.

Although the chances are slim, the conforming loan limit in a few high-cost housing markets could rise on Jan. 1.

Freddie Mac is offering its fourth structured passthrough certificates (K Certificates) deal backed by multifamily mortgages with a seven-year term.

Bondholders face a payment reversal event for the European Talisman-5 Finance plc CMBS deal. It's the second reversal event to occur this year in a European CMBS.

The odds that Citigroup's $285 million securities settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would avoid the courtroom of Judge Jed Rakoff were 97%.

A homeowner defense association has accused New York's largest foreclosure law firm of inappropriate behavior and asked the state's top judge to stop any foreclosure cases the firm handles.

Domestic banks are the largest holders of securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and similar entities, according to data from the Federal Reserve. (About half of banks' securities portfolios are made up of mortgage bonds backed by the government.)

Lender Processing Services (LPS) hired Nancy Murphy as vice president of investor relations.

Home prices fell 1.1% in September from the prior month and the outlook for the coming winter months – when sales tend to slow – are anything but positive, according to a new report from CoreLogic.

U.S. alternative asset manager Black Diamond Capital Management has acquired GSC Group’s London team, a player in the European CLO market, the company said in a release.

October prepayments were higher than expected across the coupon stack for 30-year agency MBS.

JPMorgan Chase is said to be planning the launch a $739 million deal backed by floating-rate CMBS.

KGS-Alpha Capital Markets has expanded has boosted its CMBS trading team with the addition of Jeff Lewis, Kyla Wichser and Andrew Noonan. It has also brought on board a new chief strategist, Kamal Abdullah.

Auto-backed securitizations continue to drive issuance volumes in the consumer ABS space. Several deals were announced on Monday to kick off the week's activity.

First Marblehead experienced a net loss increase of $23.0 million from the previous year's comparable quarter.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has the expertise to set servicing, underwriting, and mortgage securitization standards that could lead to the development of a private-label MBS market, according to the GSE regulator.

Given the initial coverage, you might think that the sad story of MF Global’s demise is all about John Corzine.

Although the issue has generally divided Democrats and Republicans, Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J. received bipartisan support — as well as a nod from a key regulator — Thursday for his latest proposal to reform the housing finance market.

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Thursday dismissed a civil claim filed against Lender Processing Services (LPS) by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which accused the mortgage vendor of gross negligence in appraisals conducted for the now defunct Washington Mutual, Seattle.