Securitization

BlackRock, which manages $3.4 trillion of assets for investors, will launch its own trading platform inside the firm, according to the Financial Times.

Allstate Insurance Co. has sued Bank of America to recoup losses suffered from its purchase of over $700 million in Countrywide-issued MBS.

U.S. marketed ABS volume is now at $89.5 billion with 197 deals in 2010 as of three days before 2010 ends, according to data from Dealogic.

FBR Capital Markets, a 21-year-old investment bank hobbled during the financial crisis by a bloated cost structure and ties to a mortgage REIT, seems to be making all of the right moves. But it is still waiting for them to pay off.

Ally Financial has agreed to pay Fannie Mae $462 million to settle repurchase demands for breaches of representations and warranties related to whole loans and private-label securities the lender sold the GSE.

Spain continues to plan for the securitization of its electricity deficit receivables from 2000 to 2009. The deal, which is issued by the FADE fund, will have the full guaranty of the Spanish government.

Home prices fell in October for the third month in a row and it appears the housing market is headed for a double dip, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index.

The November Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services (LPS) showed that the volume of loans moving to REO is still dropping with the moratoria further delaying foreclosure sales.

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.