Securitization

Once again the fear in the MBS market is the possibility of a government refinancing program —dubbed refinance.gov or refi.gov by analysts — as a way to stimulate the economy.

The current shutdown of the European leveraged loan market, after a glimpse of better times earlier this year, has prompted some to fret, once again, about a barrage of loan maturities coming due just as many of Europe's CLOs come to the end of their reinvestment period.

As part of its ongoing efforts to better align the interests of participants in the RMBS market and address the issue of risk retention, the Asset Securitization Forum (ASF) has come out with some guidelines relating to the repurchase of RMBS.

The insurance industry, market analysts said, is increasingly relying on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) ratings to evaluate non-agency RMBS.

Objections continue to mount against Bank of America's proposed $8.5 billion settlement with 22 major holders of Countrywide Financial Corp. mortgage-backed securities.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said late Wednesday that Robert P. Kelly had resigned as chairman and chief executive due to differences with the board "in approach to managing the company."

Little has been done to buoy confidence that an economic recovery is at hand. A settlement of the investigations surrounding last year’s robo-signing scandal that, among other things, achieves widespread principal reduction commitments from major servicers, could change that — but only if done carefully.

The Lloyds TSB Bank Plc sponsored hybrid conduit, Cancara Asset Securitization LLC, added a $120 million loan facility to its portfolio.

Yesterday the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in its capacity as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed an Appearance and Conditional Objection regarding the proposed settlement between Bank of America and a group of 22 investors being currently considered by a New York court.

Mortgage applications unexpectedly decreased by 9.6% with refinancing activity dipping 12.2% and purchase activity increasing 0.9%, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today.

CoreLogic said recently hired financial advisory firm Greenhill & Co. will evaluate the company's financial strategy and “explore a wide range of options aimed at enhancing shareholder value,” up to and including a possible sale or merger of the Santa Ana, Calif.-based provider of mortgage and property data, analytics, technology and services.

Bank of America later today is expected to unveil a major announcement about its residential mortgage business, including an update on its future as a correspondent buyer of home mortgages, according to industry officials.

Lender Processing Services' (LPS) July Mortgage Monitor report showed that foreclosure timelines are still on their steady upward trend with payments not having been made on the average loan in foreclosure in a record 599 days.

Late yesterday, Standard & Poor's affirmed ratings on 239 ABS classes of FFELP-backed SLABS that it placed on credit watch negative last July.

Sovereign Bank is taking its credit card operations in house.

Citigroup is marketing Apidos Capital Management’s new $395 million CLO, according to people familiar with the deal.

U.S. Bancorp is requesting the New York state court to make a Countrywide Financial unit to repurchase over 4,000 loans in a mortgage pool. This was done to repair breaches of contract related to improper underwriting, according to a Bloomberg report.

Home prices rose 1.1% in June after a 1% increase in May as values in 19 of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index registered monthly gains.

Municipalities are increasingly holding mortgage securitization trusts liable for the upkeep of properties, which could affect investors' cashflows, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said that on the surface, it would seem that the buyout policy shift announced by the Federal Housing Administration on Aug. 26 is negative for GNMA buyers.