Securitization

The CMBS market is getting a boost with the return of mezzanine investors that will purchase some of the riskiest pieces of securitizations or commercial real estate loans.

AmeriCredit Financial Services and Ford Motor Credit Co. are both in the market with their respective auto ABS deals.

Last year's robo-signing scandals delayed tens of thousands of foreclosures in the 23 states where the process is handled in court. A new controversy could complicate foreclosures in the other 27 states.

CMBS special servicers are working out underperforming mortgages at an increasingly faster pace. However, these companies are still fighting an "uphill battle" this year, Fitch Ratings analysts said in a report released today.

Residential Capital, an Ally Financial subsidiary, cannot be sued in a class action law suit where the proposed class comprises "large, institutional and sophisticated investors" that have the financial resources as well as incentive to pursue their own claims, Judge Harold Baer ruled in the case called New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund v. Residential Capital LLC.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) late this week sold another $1.5 billion of its NCUA Guaranteed Notes, bonds whose cash flows ultimately come from toxic MBS owned by now defunct corporate credit unions.

The 50 state attorney generals continue to work on a settlement with the top five mortgage servicers, according to market reports.

The primary market for European covered bonds saw substantial volume sold in the first month of the year.

Bank of America Friday morning reported a fourth quarter loss of $5 billion on its residential finance and insurance unit, citing $4.1 billion in representation and warranty costs tied to buybacks from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the year ago quarter its mortgage loss was $1 billion.

When it comes to the future of mortgage securitizations, it's safe to say the entire business is up for grabs, but nowhere is that more apparent than in the market for issuing bonds backed by "nonqualified" residential loans.

Gains related to principal investments held by certain consolidated real estate funds contributed to relative improvement in Morgan Stanley’s earnings for 4Q10 and the full year in 2010.

Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., New York, is offering for sale a $79 million package of residential servicing rights tied to Fannie Mae MBS.

Acting Comptroller of the Comptroller John Walsh cautioned Wednesday that regulators should not take a one-size-fits-all approach to applying pending Basel III capital standards to U.S. banks.

Mortgage rates were mixed in the week ending Jan. 20. According to Freddie Mac's weekly survey 30-year fixed rates rose three basis points to 4.74%, after two weeks of declines. Meanwhile, 15-year fixed rates slipped three basis points to 4.05%.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a fact sheet this morning on a rule requiring ABS issuers to disclose the history of both the requests they received and repurchases they made related to their ABS outstanding.

Housing starts fell to a new yearly low in December with builders breaking ground on just 417,000 single-family units annualized, according to new government figures released Wednesday morning.

The debate over where and how regulators should establish national servicing standards came to a head on Wednesday, with Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairman Sheila Bair pushing to include them in a pending risk retention proposal, while Acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) John Walsh warned such a move would be inappropriate.

GE Capital is in the market with GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust (GECCCMNT) Series 2011-1.

A ruling issued yesterday by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied class certification in an MBS law suit.

Quality-wise originations after the downturn are generally said to be relatively good credits, but beyond that let’s take a closer look at what could shape the 2011 vintage this year.