Securitization

Stagnant insurance laws that don’t allow for needed innovation are preventing a revival of the bond insurance industry, according to executives from the BondFactor Co. start-up.

The release of the December ABX remittance reports showed default rates on each index down on the month, with the exception of the 07-2 index, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts.

Just three years ago, the very idea of a consumer protection agency was dismissed by most bankers and industry representatives as a pipe dream.

The recent whipsaw action in rates that hit some players has helped validate the need for proper hedging.

The robo-signing fiasco also has energized overall fraud prevention and management efforts, prompting financial service providers to focus on short sales and foreclosure fraud.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) released its 2011 predictions for the U.K. mortgage market. It expects the U.K. to avoid a double-dip recession.

The Federal Reserve Board is revising an interim final rule it approved in September to make changes to the disclosures required for interest-only, payment-option and 5/1 hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages.

Newtek Business Services closed its securitization backed by roughly $23 million of non-guaranteed portions of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) small business loans.

The European sovereign debt crisis that continued unfolding in December led to downgrades of the sovereign ratings of Portugal, Greece and Ireland.

Spanish bank Grupo Santander has agreed to purchase a $2 billion Mexican mortgage portfolio from General Electric Co.'s finance division for $162 million plus the assumption of debt, according to Dow Jones.

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report Wednesday analyzed various proposals for housing finance reform, saying "the weaknesses inherent in the pre-crisis model may argue against returning to that model."

The idea that the interests of troubled homeowners and mortgage investors are aligned — and that they conflict with those of loan servicers — is gaining momentum.

As credit card portfolio health continues to improve and consumer spending gradually picks up, receivables are poised to grow next year for the first time since the financial crisis, Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) finalized three rules on Wednesday, including one that requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the size of their portfolios.

Residential foreclosures have been rising for the past six months and will continue to accelerate in 2011, according to CoreLogic analysts.

CoreLogic, as part of its plan to concentrate on its real estate and mortgage information businesses, will sell its employer services and litigation support businesses to Symphony Technology Group.

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded $1.7 billion in Washington Mutual-issued securities backed by first-lien, Alt-A credit, payment-option adjustable-rate mortgages with negative amortization.

Pramerica Investment Management is assuming management of a CLO previously overseen by Aladdin Capital Management UK, according to a Moody’s Investors Service report.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded MBIA and its two principal bond insurer subsidiaries on Wednesday, citing new methodologies for assessing RMBS.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded MBIA and its two principal bond insurer subsidiaries on Wednesday, citing new methodologies for assessing RMBS.