Securitization

Today the Federal Reserve Bank of New York bought $3.609 billion in Treasury debt maturing from 2016 to 2020, published reports said.

The average 30-year fixed rate during the week ending Aug. 19 once again dropped to another low as it has continued to fall at a pace that could theoretically benefit even borrowers who got loans relatively recently.

Structured settlement ABS have certain inherent risks setting them apart from other structured finance assets, according to a report from Standard & Poor's updating its criteria for the sector.

Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland have weighed in on the long-running debate over whether to let bankruptcy judges modify home mortgages, saying evidence suggests the strategy helped stem farm foreclosures in the 1980s.

After the mortgage securitization market shut down and the Treasury Department put the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship in 2008, the Treasury issued a white paper suggesting covered bonds as an alternative. The administration and Congress are currently working on enabling legislation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is conducting an insider trading investigation of General Growth Partners (GGP). The bankrupt shopping mall owner also disclosed that it is receiving equity investment from The Blackstone Group.

SMART Servicing, an affiliate of Steel Mountain Capital Management, is offering new software that provides the residential mortgage loan market with loan level information designed to help users control loss severity.

In 1H10, the trend of strong returns for insurance-linked securities (ILS) continued, according to the first edition of Swiss Re's update on the ILS market for August 2010.

The Federal Reserve purchased around $2.5 billion of Treasurys in its first outright purchase of U.S. government debt since October, according to published reports. The Fed's aim was to prevent money from leaving the financial system.

Sallie Mae is in the market with a FFELP-backed student loan ABS with Bank of America Merrill Lynch serving as lead manager. RBS Securities is co-manager on the $760.4 million offering.

Even with reports of JPMorgan Chase planning to sell $1 billion of CMBS — the biggest deal this year — issuance in the sector is still far below 2007 levels.

Although there were sharp disagreements at a Treasury Department conference Tuesday about what kind of role the government should take in the future of housing finance, one idea in particular seems to be gaining momentum: creating an insurance fund to back MBS.

Refinancing activity jumped in the week ending Aug. 13 in response to historically attractive mortgage rate levels.

The auto sector remains the most active part of the ABS market with three transactions boosting the pike. Hyundai Capital America (HCA) and Ally Bank are both in the market with their respective deals.

The Airport Authority for Sydney, Australia is looking to raise funding and will likely turn to the 144A Regulation S market, sources said.

Nonprofit HOPE NOW is estimating so far in 2010 the industry has completed about 975,000 permanent loan modifications, both government and private, getting close to the one million mark.

The U.S. Treasury Department held its conference on the future of housing finance this morning. Among the speakers at the gathering were U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and PIMCO founder Bill Gross.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has reportedly sold a €1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) portfolio of leveraged loans to Intermediate Capital Group.

Moody's Investors Service reiterated Monday that the possible bankruptcy of Ambac Financial Group is unlikely to affect policyholders of its bond insurer subsidiary.

The credit outlook at the top six card issuers is getting brighter, with both chargeoffs and delinquencies falling again in July.