Securitization

Amherst Securities Group hired three mortgage industry veterans to expand its sales division. The executives are Peter Davidson, Chris Heaney and Chris O'Neill.

A ruling by Massachusetts' highest court Friday repudiating a widespread securitization practice could scuttle other foreclosure cases statewide and may portend similar blows to the industry elsewhere.

Modifications of securitized commercial real estate (CRE) loans more than doubled in 2010 from the previous year, according to a new report from Standard & Poor's.

Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke said he is dismayed by the persistence of high foreclosure rates, declining home values, and the futility of government efforts to engineer a recovery in the housing market.

Massachusetts' highest court on Friday voided foreclosures on two homes because the servicers that tried to take title to the properties failed to show they held the mortgages at the time of foreclosure.

Some yearend bank deals gave new meaning to the abbreviations M&A and CRE: More Anxiety about Crummy Real Estate loans.

Ellington Management Group hired Leo Huang as portfolio manager for commercial real estate (CRE) debt. Huang will report to Michael Vranos, Ellington’s founder and chief executive.

PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J., could write up the value of its mortgage servicing rights by between $125 million and $175 million for 4Q10, an earnings preview report from FBR Capital Markets predicted.

The 30-year conventional speeds in December were slightly slower versus expectations of a slight increase.

In the Chinese Zodiac, 2011 is the year of the rabbit. But in leveraged finance, 2011 may be the year of the CLO, with this investment vehicle bringing more deals to the leveraged loan market.

Citigroup is soliciting potential buyers for its subprime lending unit CitiFinancial, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing sources it did not identify.

Covered bond issuance is off to a strong start with at least 12 deals being marketed from issuers across Europe.

Swiss Re Capital Markets privately placed €75 million ($97 million) worth of notes covering French windstorm events.

The California Association of Realtors, whose members are frustrated by the dearth of short sales, has created a task force to examine the shortcomings of the government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program.

Daniel Mudd, the former chief executive of Fannie Mae, once said that fighting the company's regulators and critics was "like having an argument with your spouse. There's no use in being right. You have to find the way forward."

Interactive Mortgage Advisors (IMA), Denver, has closed on the sale of $502 million of bulk mortgage servicing rights backed by Fannie Mae loans in North Carolina.

Although GSE reforms could open up some additional conforming mortgage flow into the private label RMBS sector, there is still a very limited amount of mortgage origination to securitize.

Sidley Austin hired Kevin Blauch as a partner in New York in the structured finance and securitization practice.

While Bank of America's settlement with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae provides greater clarity for its ultimate exposure regarding representations and warranty losses, there is still uncertainty for the bank holding company regarding losses in the areas the deal does not cover, a report from Fitch Ratings said.

SLM Corp., more commonly known as Sallie Mae, has appointed John (Jack) Remondi as president and chief operating officer.