Securitization

Fitch Ratings published an exposure draft introducing its new rating model that determines losses on newly originated residential mortgages.

Morgan Stanley and Bank of America yesterday began marketing the second CMBS offering so far in 201l, according to a Dow Jones report.

Leaf Financial has completed a small-ticket mixed equipment issue.

As expected mortgage application activity rebounded in the week ending Jan. 28 as the previous week was not adjusted for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Before 2011 even began, the prediction for asset quality in the new year turned decidedly positive.

Ally Financial reported its fourth consecutive quarterly profit Tuesday and its chief executive said the auto and mortgage lender is hyperfocused on repaying its $17.2 billion bailout as the company prepares for an initial public offering.

The head of the only active U.S. bond insurer on Tuesday ridiculed the new bond-insurer ratings methodology proposed by Standard & Poor’s as unjustified, irrational, and too subjective.

Citigroup late last month sold a $517 million portfolio of nonperforming mortgages, according to market sources.

To help more underwater borrowers, Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has introduced a bill that requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stop charging high fees on refinancings of guaranteed mortgages with high loan-to-value ratios."These fees are discouraging borrowers from refinancing in a time of historically low mortgage rates, making it more likely that they will eventually default," said the California Democrat.

A 'qualified residential mortgage' (QRM) rule that does not include a mandate for mortgage insurance will not necessarily harm the MI industry, according to a new report from FBR Capital Markets.

DriveTime Automotive Group is in the market with a $214.181 million auto ABS transaction called DT Auto Owner Trust 2011-1.

Fannie Mae introduced of Fannie Mae Guaranteed Multifamily Structures or Fannie Mae GeMS.

As the CMBS market preps for its take off with the upcoming launch of the Deutsche Bank and UBS $2.2 billion CMBS deal, market analysts said that new-issue CMBS will be driven by rising risk appetite, improving economic sentiment and the persistent supply/demand imbalance.

Considerable uncertainty surrounds the recently postponed issuance of the mortgage securitization regulations required by the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA). In particular, two critical decisions involve the required risk retention contained in the DFA. The forthcoming directives will clearly have a major impact on the competitive and economic structure of the mortgage industry in the future.

While Mexico's nonbank originators known as Sofoles are still grappling with the effects of the economic crisis, state-owned agency Infonavit continues to turn out mortgages and securitize them in steady if not growing volumes.

Shopping the B-piece is an integral part of structuring a CMBS transaction. However, with more than a few of the more traditional B-piece investors exiting the market in the last down cycle, B-piece buying became more opportunistic. As CMBS market fundamentals improve, the sector is bound to see the return of the more traditional mezzanine investors, sources said.

All the rating agencies have recently issued warnings about or downgraded re-securitizations, known as re-REMICs, and while those deals issued over the last few years appear hardy enough to withstand another housing downturn, their resemblance to infamous CDOs raises concerns.

The U.S. Treasury isn't rushing the issue on GSE reform. For the securitization industry, the government's slow pace has turned out to be ideal.

The Obama administration in January postponed announcing its GSE reform proposals. Experts said that the root cause of the delay is the fear of further disrupting the already fragile housing market, as Nora Colomer points out in this month's cover story.

There has been discussion that since many of the credit-eligible borrowers are out of the refinancing window, mortgage bankers will use the freed-up capacity to concentrate on the harder-to-refinance, credit-impaired borrowers.