Securitization

Freddie Mac released its July 2011 economic outlook yesterday where it projected that the U.S. housing market will perform similarly to the overall U.S. economy for the rest of 2011, with home sales above 2010’s pace by 3% to 5%.

Carrington Mortgage Services has been authorized as a Ginnie Mae issuer for the GNMA I and II single-family MBS program.

While the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remains uncertain, there are a number of things the two are doing to improve their operations and financial soundness, according to Patrick Lawler, chief economist and associate director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

Bank of America is actively selling mortgage servicing rights and becoming more selective in placing MSRs on its books, company officials said Tuesday morning.

This legislation might as well be called "The Kick the Can Act" and for once, its backers aren't ashamed to admit it. In fact, they're damn proud of it. It's the whole point.

The residential finance division of Bank of America posted a stunning loss of $13 billion in the second quarter as delinquent mortgages, expected legal settlements and charges tied to 'reps and warranties' on loans sold into the secondary market hammered its performance.

A white paper released yesterday by the Milken Institute said the Federal government should allow other mortgage finance-related companies to compete with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on a level playing field. The GSEs should also move back into private hands, the paper argued.

Friday's European bank stress tests revealed that all securitization positions in European banking and trading books were stressed, according to market reports.

A new Trepp report showed that while the percentage of loans that paid off on their balloon date rose seven basis points to 42.2% in June, the rate is still struggling to recover after two consecutive months of decline.

MassMutual Asset Finance (MMAF) is marketing an equipment lease and loan ABS deal worth approximately $755.24 million. The 144A deal is sole managed by JPMorgan Securities.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California held a press conference last week to support the passage of Helping Responsible Homeowners Act, which aims to help non-delinquent, existing borrowers refinance at a lower rate through the elimination of Loan-Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs) and qualify borrowers with LTVs higher than 125%.

Caliber Funding has added three new senior vice presidents to its executive management team.

By waiting so long to nominate Richard Cordray to be the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), President Obama has boxed himself in and Cordary will have to be confirmed by the Senate for the new bureau to exercise its full powers.

FBR Capital Markets has initiated coverage of Walter Investment Management Corp., which is in the special servicing business, giving the company an "outperform" rating after it closed on its acquisition of Green Tree Credit Solutions.

One Reverse Mortgage has gotten the go-ahead from Ginnie Mae to securitize Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Home Equity Conversion Mortgages.

A Barclays Capital report examined the increasing possibility that FFELP student loan ABS will experience rating volatility in the upcoming months. As a result, the bank shifted its position to neutral from overweight on FFELP-backed SLABS.

Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank are marketing a CMBS deal worth approximately $1.0 billion. This will be the largest single borrower offering of 2011.

Global issuance of CLOs is at $5.0 billion via 13 deals for the year to date through July 15, according to Dealogic.

Mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial is seeking a $575 million term loan B to finance its acquisition of Litton from Goldman Sachs.

Builders’ confidence in the market for new single-family homes dropped, as the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) housing market index - a monthly gauge of builder sentiment – grew to 15 in July from 13 in June.