Securitization

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) this week suspended its mortgage program, citing rising delinquencies and declining usage by its target audience: state workers. The program's administrator is Citigroup.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is preparing a $402 million CLO to be managed by Ares Management, according to Bloomberg.

Despite coming to market at what has traditionally been a quieter time of the year, the recent spate of government-backed securitizations to hit the market have found a healthy buyside appetite.

Dechert hired Laura Swihart as a partner in the finance and real estate practice and will be based in the firm’s New York office. Swihart was most recently a partner at Winton & Strawn.

Differences in judicial and non-judicial foreclosures over the past several months have meant some securitized private-label subprime/Alt-A mortgages made to borrowers in the what is still considered a relatively weak — though improving — California market, for example, are actually exhibiting better performance in some ways as a group than their counterparts in the relatively stronger New York market.

In its first full year of trading, PERILS industry loss index saw the total placements of insurance risk transactions exceed $1 billion, according to insurance data provided by Zurich-based PERILS.

The Senate Banking Committee Tuesday afternoon approved the nomination of Joseph Smith to be the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) by a 16-6 vote. However, several Republicans are planning to delay his confirmation by the full Senate.

Moody's Investors Service said yesterday that the "intense spotlight" that was placed on mortgage servicers following the disclosure of irregularities in foreclosure documentation will persist into next year.

With the government agency that dominates the reverse mortgage space working on moves to address the increase in tax and insurance default concerns there, some players may want to keep an eye on how these affect the market for this product.

The government's primary foreclosure prevention program – Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) – has not lived up to expectations and will wind up helping just a fraction of its target audience, according to a new report from the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Panel (COP).

Citigroup late last week agreed to sell a $441 million package of nonperforming loans with PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust being identified as the winning bidder, according to industry sources who play in that space.

Joe Smith, the Obama administration's nominee for director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said Monday that the government should continue playing a role in the mortgage market, but he left the final word to Congress.

Private placement ABS transactions have come to market in the last week backed by a range of collateral that includes auto and timeshare receivables.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is in the market again with resecuritizations of residential and commercial real estate debt.

Brazos Higher Education Authority is in the market with its Series 2010-1 FFELP-backed SLABS transaction.

Swiss Re obtained $106.5 million of natural catastrophe protection through its existing Vega capital program.

Legal actions tied to mortgage lending jumped by more than 40% in the third quarter based on the Mortgage Litigation Index report published this week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has assembled a task force of its key members to examine and issue recommendations for the future of residential mortgage servicing. Michael Berman, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and John Courson, MBA's president and CEO announced the trade group's move.

GAGFAH S.A., sponsor of several German multifamily loans securitized in European CMBS, intends to buy back as much as €125 million ($167.5 million) in shares.

Ginnie Mae will join Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in requiring mortgages it purchases to be transmitted in the Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD) standard — the set of data points and e-document formats the government-sponsored enterprises will mandate for all mortgages it purchases beginning Sept. 1, 2011.