Securitization

PHH Corp., which controls the nation's eighth largest servicer, is likely to take a $100 million writedown on the value of its mortgage servicing rights in the third quarter, according to a new research report from FBR Capital Markets.

Ohio became the first state to level a civil fraud suit against a major servicer, claiming the company misled courts in hundreds of foreclosure cases by filing fraudulent affidavits.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said that on Wednesday afternoon he will unveil a civil fraud case against a "national loan servicer," charging that company with foreclosure fraud in regard to hundreds of loans in the state.

Solar installer SPG Solar has formed a new structured finance group. SPG’s new group will be headed by Michael Johnson, who joined SPG in June 2010 as vice president of project finance. Johnson is the former managing director of the renewable energy investment program for the National Development Council.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said today that it is seeking public comment on proposed regulations to require ABS issuers and credit rating agencies that rate ABS to provide investors with new disclosures about representations, warranties, and enforcement mechanisms.

Refinancing activity declined for the fifth straight week, despite new record lows in mortgage rates.

With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now requiring that all mortgage servicers review how they handle foreclosures, more questions are being raised about the impact that potentially invalid affidavits will have on the foreclosure process, on servicers and the industry overall.

Citigroup has sold $1.6 billion of retail credit card assets to General Electric Co.'s GE Capital arm, the companies said Wednesday.

Arrears rates in both prime and subprime U.K. RMBS transactions will increase over the coming months.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an investigation into the handling of delinquent mortgages, loan modifications and foreclosures by banks for possible violations of laws and regulations.

Principia Partners, announced its integration of Intex performance data into the Principia Structured Finance Platform (Principia SFP).

Moody's Investors Service is giving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s (FDIC) new "Safe Harbor" rule the thumbs-up due to the protections private-label MBS investors can rely on if the issuing bank fails.

Various changes have occured throughout the crisis in terms of the ABS investor base, according to speakers at this week’s Information Management Network ABS East conference.

United Capital Markets CEO John Devaney showed ABS market participants at Information Management Network’s ABS East conference that he knows how to throw a great party.

Some panelists were optimistic while others were a little bit more guarded on the future of securitization at this week’s Information Management Network ABS East conference.

KGS-Alpha Capital Markets added three new regional sales offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Reston, Virginia and Chicago, Illinois.

The Receivables Exchange, an online marketplace for real-time trading of commercial receivables, launched its corporate auctions program.

Starwood Capital Group hired a team of seasoned to drive the growth of its commercial real estate finance company, Starwood Property Trust.

United Capital Markets (UCM) is hosting tonight's concert and cocktail party that headlines Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Information Management Network’s (IMN) ABS East conference.

Expanding QE into Treasurys could cause general yield levels to decline by around 25 basis points, which could raise the pace of the Federal Reserve portfolio runoff from $25 to $30 billion per month up to $40-45bn in the short term, according to JPMorgan Securities analysts.