Securitization

There has been much discussion around the future of the GSEs. There are three models being floated around: a hybrid market with some GSE involvement; the GSEs becoming full federal agencies; or the privatization of the markets without any GSE involvement. However, there has been little focus on how a new infrastructure for housing finance will be built.

In just under a month of being in office, Michigan’s new Attorney General, Bill Schuette, a former Congressman and state Senator, has taken a firm stance on replenishing the losses incurred to the State of Michigan Retirement Systems (SMRS).

A source of industry ruin became a surprisingly lucrative growth area for some big banks last quarter: commercial real estate (CRE).

Several new deals that have been in the works signal that the CMBS new-issue market might be picking up steam, according to Scott Buchta, head of investment strategy at Braver Stern Securities in an emailed note.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and other Republican lawmakers Friday announced new legislation to end the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Sen. Rand Paul, the newly installed 'Tea Party' senator from Kentucky, wants to eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), saying the agency played a key role in the housing crisis by implementing policies that "expanded risky mortgages," including subprime loans.

Bank of America Corp. CEO Brian Moynihan said the U.S. housing market will "bump along the bottom" in 2011, according to a Bloomberg report.

Chapman and Cutler hired James Croke and Peter Manbeck, previously from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, as partners in the asset securitization group in its New York office.

Boutique invesment bank Williams Capital Group (WCG) hired Joseph Fichera, who is chief executive officer of Saber Partners, as senior advisor to the firm.

Freddie Mac purchased $49.7 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in December, its best purchase month of the year and a sign that loan production remained strong in the fourth quarter.

Auto ABS issuance is on track to beat 2010 volumes if the healthy January pipeline is an indicator of both supply and demand in the sector. Securities backed by auto loans and inventory add up to about $8 billion so far this year.

Wall Street trading floors are not known for decorum. But it is striking how often a particular profanity turns up in those internal e-mails that become public after markets crash.

Ally Financial, which controls the nation's fifth largest mortgage banking firm, plans to go public this year and is interviewing investment bankers for its initial public offering, according to sources familiar with the plan.Two underwriters that Ally has spoken with include JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

Mortgage rates were higher in the week ending Jan. 27 following higher Treasury yields that responded to stronger economic data this week, said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft.

Tight credit conditions, higher mortgage rates, and a big drop in refinancings will push residential originations below $1 trillion this year to levels not seen since 2000, according to economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

When the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced its interest last week in overhauling how servicers are paid, it didn't provide much in the way of public detail.

A new ruling from the Southern District Court of New York could have enough force to push a Michigan subprime securities lawsuit against Bear Stearns to trial, state officials said Wednesday.

Standard & Poor’s is considering whether Assured Guaranty’s credit is really 'AA-plus'. The credit-default swap market made that decision a while ago and its verdict is no.

Nelnet is in the market with a $384.4 million deal called Nelnet Student Loan Trust 2011-1. The FFELP-backed transaction is managed by Barclays Capital and RBC Capital Markets.

Consumers bought just 321,000 homes in 2010, the lowest reading in almost half a century, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday morning by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).