Securitization

Those who've been holding their breath for a commercial real estate meltdown may want to exhale.

"Persistent weakness" in the housing market and the downside risk of further price declines is one of the major factors cited by the Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee for the slowdown in the pace of the economic recovery in recent months.

President Obama on Tuesday officially appointed Carol Galante to serve as the new acting commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), overseeing the agency's single family and multifamily programs.

Over 80% of 'Aaa'-rated European RMBS and ABS have maintained their ratings throughout the crisis, spanning from May 2007 to May 2011, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service.

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS) is marketing an auto loan issuance of $1.25 billion. MBFS is a subsidiary of Daimler AG.

Republican leaders on the House Financial Services Committee are coming under strong criticism for taking a piecemeal approach to winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while ignoring several comprehensive GSE reform bills that address the future of the housing finance system.

Deutsche Bank Securities is currently marketing a CMBS called COMM 2011-THL Mortgage Trust worth $685 million.

BlueMountain Capital Management LLC is in the market with a $361 million collateralized loan obligation.

The largest single-family mortgage REIT, Annaly Capital Management Inc., was the most actively traded stock on the NYSE Tuesday morning, the day after it announced the pricing of a secondary stock offering of about 120 million shares.

Roughly $25 billion of Freddie Mac servicing rights that once belonged to the now defunct Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW) could hit the market by summer’s end, according to officials close to the matter.

A report by Barclays Capital said that the post-crisis performance improvements of retail auto collateral are real, and are not a result of new unseasoned issuance with low delinquencies and losses being included in calculations.

When Bank of America Corp. said it would unload the servicing of its most troubled Countrywide mortgages as part of a proposed settlement with bondholders, the surprise wasn't that they doubted the bank could do the job.

The long expected boom in banks unloading their REO and nonperforming loans may finally be afoot.

Despite a recent uptick in national home prices, Clear Capital reported that home values are down 3.2% for the first six months of this year, and the real estate data firm is projecting another 2.4% decline through the second half of 2011.

The price of being a good neighbor can be steep for banks foreclosing on condominiums and homes in planned communities.

Some experts suggest that in disputes between investors and banks involving securitized residential mortgage product, investors have found it challenging to force banks to repurchase loans — a factor that could influence whether a huge settlement in this area pending at press time goes through.

While some bankers are secretly gleeful the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) does not yet have a director, they are the ones likely to pay a heavy price as a result.

Fitch Ratings updated its criteria for rating Dutch RMBS transactions backed by the Nationale Hypotheek Garantie (NHG). The action could possibly cause previously rated 'AAA' paper backed by NHGs to be downgraded to 'BBB."

Nelnet has acquired $1.9 billion worth of Federal Family Education Loan Program or FFELP consolidation loans from Greystone & Co.

RBC Capital Markets has added a cohead of U.S. loan capital markets, the firm said.