Securitization

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has told 50 leading bond mutual fund companies to remove credit ratings on their holdings from advertisements, marketing materials and Web sites.

As the Senate prepares to debate regulatory reform legislation, Sen. Carl Levin is using the failed Washington Mutual as evidence that the bill's most contentious provisions are necessary.

John Vella, executive vice president of portfolio servicing strategies for Residential Capital Corp. (ResCap), has resigned from the company, effective immediately, according to a memo provided to National Mortgage News.

Loan Value Group named Craig Lipsay as managing partner. In his new role, Lipsay will work directly with institutional clients to implement Loan Value Group's Responsible Homeowner Reward, a program that offers cash payments to eligible homeowners affected by negative equity, but who remain current on their mortgages.

NewOak Capital appointed Chad Burhance as managing director and head of NewOak Solutions, which provides portfolio risk analytics, credit, and advisory service to institutional investors globally.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) named Gail Cardwell as senior vice president of commercial/multifamily.

Deutsche Bank formed Deutsche Gulf Finance, a joint venture Shariah-compliant home financing firm owned 40% by the bank’s Riyadh Branch and 60% by a group of Saudi-based buyers led by Fahad Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Rajhi.

Meridian Capital Group, one of the nation's largest commercial real estate mortgage brokerage firms, has hired industry veteran Marty Lanigan as senior managing director of origination and strategic initiatives.

The mortgage servicing industry should brace itself for a continued wave of redefaults on modified loans, according to Diane Pendley, managing director at Fitch Ratings.

The roughly $12 billion Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) moved last week to solicit proposals for a newly approved MBS fixed-income mandate.

Former GSE regulator James Lockhart is blaming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for encouraging poor underwriting standards during the housing bubble by not aggressively forcing their seller/servicers to buy back bad loans.

If knowledge is power, lenders are becoming more powerful.

Underscoring how important sales and people skills have become for loss mitigation, Bank of America Corp.'s home mortgage unit now has 660 originators working on loan modifications, an executive said.

Bingham McCutchen hired Susan Merrill, the head of enforcement at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), as a partner in its broker-dealer group in New York.

Australia-based FirstMac launched an offer of A$340 million ($315 million) of prime RMBS, according to a Bloomberg report.

Mercedez Benz is in the market with a $992.8 million auto-backed ABS while GMAC Mortgage is marketing a $458 million servicer advance-backed transaction.

Ambac Financial Group announced late Thursday net income of $558.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to an 8K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commision.

Credit default swap indices compiled by Fitch Solutions show subprime RMBS prices have continued to strengthen with some variation by vintage.

During the height of the mortgage boom, a thriving private-label MBS market "threatened" Fannie Mae financially, driving the congressionally chartered mortgage giant into the Alt-A market that ultimately led to huge credit losses at the company, a former top Fannie official told a congressional panel Friday.

Morgan Stanley-owned Saxon Mortgage has been identified as the seller of a $6.9 billion bulk package of residential servicing rights to Ocwen Loan Servicing, West Palm Beach, Fla.