Securitization

It would be easier for underwater borrowers to utilize the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) if Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and banks drop their fees on these refinancings, according to the Amherst Securities Group (ASG).

Ginnie Mae beginning in September and thereafter will be releasing its monthly disclosure file on outstanding Ginnie Mae securities around 10 business days earlier than it previously did, the agency announced today.

Fitch Ratings assigned Concent Forderungsmanagement (Concent) a German ABS primary servicer rating of 'ABPS3.' It is the first such rating assigned to a European ABS servicer.

Though the regulatory reform law took a crucial step toward simplifying mortgage disclosures by ordering a new consumer protection regulator to harmonize two conflicting statutes, the road ahead will be long and difficult.

The housing and mortgage markets were hit with yet another blast of ugly news Wednesday morning with new home sales falling 12.4% in July and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)reporting that purchase money loans now account for just 17.6% of all new loan applications.

Mortgage loan applications rose 4.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ended Aug. 20, and grew 4.5% on an unadjusted basis, as refinancings increased as mortgage rates fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday.

Almost 14% of loan modifications completed in the first quarter of 2010 involved principal reductions of at least 10%, according to the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is expected to take final bids on the $23 billion AmTrust servicing portfolio next week with a sale coming by the end of September, according to investment bankers familiar with the offering.

Fitch Ratings said today that it has made changes to its global rating methodology for CDOs backed by trust preferred securities (TruPS).

Sales of single-family existing homes plummeted 27% in July from the previous month as the expiration of homebuyer tax credit sucked all the oxygen out of the market. The sales reading was the worst in 15 years.

A financial regulatory reform law that would require ABS issuers to retain at least 5% of the debt they issue is so broad that some market participants are warning the retention requirements could apply to certain municipal bond transactions.

Europe is gearing up for a revival of its RMBS sector after taking a break in August. The latest deal slated to make the rounds next month comes from Santander U.K.'s Fosse master trust structure.

Fitch Ratings stated that defaults on U.S. bank TruPS CDOs eclipsed the 14% mark on 11 new bank defaults.

The Federal Reserve could see 20% of its $1.11 trillion portfolio of agency MBS run off due to refinancings and other prepayments by July 2011, according to mortgage strategists at Credit Suisse.

While the call for the creation of a catastrophic insurance fund for MBS has been gaining ground in recent weeks, two leading Federal Reserve Board economists are poised to push the concept one step further, suggesting a backstop for all ABS.

European CMBS loan defaults have continued to increase with 10 loans that defaulted in Q210, bringing the total at the end of the quarter to 8.7%.

As part of its disposal of U.S. consumer banking businesses, HSBC Holdings is shopping HSBC Mortgage Corp. around. As with many yard sale offerings, the property's attractiveness is up for debate.

Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO) has just priced a $280,000 deal backed by vacation ownership loans related to 17 SVO properties that are located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Orlando, FL., and Scottsdale, Arizona, among others.

Barclays Capital analysts turned to overweight from underweight on the agency MBS basis.

A bankruptcy court approved General Growth Properties’ (GGP) disclosure statement, bringing the shopping mall owner closer to emerging from bankruptcy.