Securitization

Sales of existing single-family homes fell 5.6% in June, following a 1.6% decline in May, a decent showing in the wake of federal tax credits for homebuyers expiring in the early spring.

Ambac Financial Group Friday completed the sale of RangeMark Financial Services, the advisory services company it helped launch.

Three trade associations — American Securitization Forum (ASF), Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), and the CRE Finance Council — have all issued comment letters to the U.S. Treasury on GSE reform.

General Motors will acquire AmeriCredit in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $3.5 billion, the firm announced today.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has appointed Kathy Marquardt as associate vice president of commercial servicing and council coordinator, effective Aug. 9.

Mortgage application activity increased 7.6% in the week ending July 16 with refinancing and purchase activity higher.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Deutsche Bank Securities $7.5 million for negligently misrepresenting delinquency data in connection with the issuance of subprime securities, the regulator said today.

The CRE Finance Council said today that overall the final Financial Reform Bill included provisions intended to address the unique nature of commercial real estate finance and to promote a coordinated regulatory approach.

The repeal of Section 436(G) of the Securities Act of 1933 --- what the Wall Street Journal in an article this morning called an “unintended consequence” of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act --- is likely to open rating agencies to unprecedented liability for the quality of their ratings on ABS transactions, according to Barclays Capital analysts.

Credit conditions are improving for some of the top card issuers but the effects of new regulations and long-term unemployment will continue to challenge their portfolios' performance.

BTIG will continue to expand its U.S. fixed income sales and trading platform with the addition of several hires to its structured products grouphigh yield, high grade, and convertibles.

Syncora Guarantee on Wednesday will begin paying insurance claims on regularly scheduled payment dates following the approval of its remediation plan by its regulator.

As if Greece didn't have enough on its plate, now banks looking to securitize Greek assets face a 'AA' threshold on many of the country's deals. This is a result of its sovereign and domestic downgrade to triple-B that happened a month ago.

RBS Securities has expanded its MBS and ABS sales and trading teams within its global banking and markets division in the Americas, the firm announced today.

BNY Mellon has named Patrick Tadie to the newly created role of global business head for the firm’s Derivatives360 initiative.

The Federal Reserve Board agreed with the Treasury Department’s decision to reduce the credit protection provided for the Term Assett-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to $4.3 billion from $20 billion , according to a release from the Federal Reserve.

Single-family housing starts leveled off in June, dropping by 0.7%, following a 10% decline in May after the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit.

Santander Consumer Bank sold an upsized €700 million auto-backed deal.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers has formed Gibraltar Capital and Asset Management, which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Toll Brothers.

General Motors’ (GM) and Chrysler’s mass closure of auto dealerships last year may not have helped the Detroit companies and likely was an unnecessary burden on the fragile U.S. economy, according to a government report that examined how the U.S. Treasury Department handled the automaker restructurings.