Securitization

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reached a settlement with Bank of America, which releases the company from liability for failing to provide alternatives to foreclosure on 57,000 delinquent government-insured mortgages.The agreement, a draft of which was obtained by American Banker, was previously undisclosed. It has been forged on a separate but parallel track from ongoing settlement talks between BofA, state attorneys general and other regulators over alleged mortgage origination and servicing failures.

One interesting instrument that has been used to take the pulse of the nonagency securitized residential mortgage market has been the U.S. subprime credit default swap index, and recently Fitch Solutions' dropped modestly and reversed its direction, ending what previously had been an unprecedented rally. This trend has looked likely to continue, although it could be short term.

One tenet of real estate investing is that you never should sell a home in a down market. And one tenet of mortgage banking has always been that you don't sell servicing rights in a down market either.

Despite a quarter-over-quarter gain of 4.1%, national home prices are still down over the entire year, according to the Clear Capital Home Data Index Market Report.

Buoyed by gains in mortgage-servicing revenue, Ocwen Financial Corp. in Atlanta reported net income of $26.4 million in the second quarter, up 65% from the $16 million it earned in the same quarter last year.

John Deere has filed an S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue an ABS transaction.

Pending U.S. risk retention regulations require "careful navigation" by securitization market participants, according to a Fitch Ratings report.

With the likelihood of legislation to create a new housing finance system increasingly remote, the government should still take interim steps to transition away from a system built around Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, industry representatives said Wednesday.

Freddie Mac reported 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 4.39% with an average 0.8 point for the week ending Aug. 4, down 16 basis points from last week.

BMO Financial Group today said that BMO Capital Corp. will be transferred to BMO Capital Partners, a new group under BMO Bank of Montreal's corporate finance division.

BNP Paribas launched its first index on triple-A rated, U.S. dollar-denominated covered bonds from issuers globally.

Russell filed on July 29 a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for Russell Core Fixed Income ETF.

Annaly Capital Management, one of the largest mortgage investing REITs in the U.S., posted net earnings of $120.8 million in 2Q11, compared to a loss of $218.2 million in 2Q10.

Global financial firms are in danger of drowning in the ocean of uncertainty that floats between the rhetoric of the G-20 and the reality of international regulation.

A new U.K. RMBS was announced this week. The deal, which will be rated by Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, securitizes a pool of prime residential owner-occupied mortgages originated in the U.K. by Principality Building Society (PBS). This is the first residential owner-occupied passthrough RMBS transaction from PBS.

Last night Moody's Investors Service confirmed the U.S. 'Aaa' government bond rating, although the agency maintained a negative rating outlook.

The raising of the debt ceiling helped rein in widening on the agency MBS front this week.

Home prices increased by just under 1% in June from the prior month, marking the third consecutive monthly increase, according to new figures compiled by CoreLogic, Santa Ana, Calif.

Mortgage applications rose 7.1% in the week ending July 29 with both purchase and refinancing activity higher.

Federal officials should go easy on overriding state sovereignty by changing foreclosure laws without a legislative mandate, former U.S. Department of Urban Development (HUD) general counsel Robert Couch told a Senate panel on Tuesday.