Securitization

Home prices rose 0.6% in October and rebounded from a 0.4% decline in September, according to a house price index compiled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

Standard & Poor's has downgraded the ratings on five mortgage insurance companies, saying industry losses have exceeded its prior expectations and the recession has had a deeper impact on their portfolios than expected.

The Federal Reserve Board and Federal Trade Commission have issued a final rule that requires lenders to disclose their use of risk-based pricing along with a notice that tells consumers they will not get the best deal because of their credit score.

Banks are scrambling to find new footing as lawmakers and regulators undermine one of the industry's profit foundations: consumer fees.

Nearly one-third of consumers believe the economic downturn has not yet hit bottom, according to research by First Command Financial Services.

Bankrupt small-business credit card lender Advanta Corp. disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that defaults dropped to 34.36% in November from 34.99% the previous month, according to Bloomberg.

The multifamily sector is taking a beating and experiencing record vacancy rates due to high unemployment and low household formation, according to Freddie Mac.

The $7.6 billion Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System’s (LASERS) investment committee met last Thursday to discuss The TCW Group’s organizational changes.

Barbara Alexander, who has been one of three Freddie Mac directors the Federal Housing Finance Agency left in place after the company was placed into government conservatorship, will step down from the company's board once her term ends in March of next year.

National home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 7.8% in October 2009 compared with October 2008, according to First American CoreLogic and its LoanPerformance Home Price Index (HPI).

Existing home sales jumped 7.4% in November to a 6.54 million annual rate spurred by the original Nov. 30 deadline for a recently extended federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, the National Association of Realtors reported today.

DBRS's New York office downgraded 497 classes from 122 RMBS transactions, the majority of which are pre-2006 vintages backed by subprime or alternative A credit collateral.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) occupies a unique position in the debate on securitization reform due to the agency's long-standing "safe harbor" policy.

In the latest addition to the DoubleLine investment roster, former The TCW Group executive Ronald Redell joined the likes of nearly 40 other employees from the firm Friday, and signed with Jeffrey Gundlach’s new firm.

Corporate greed, moral hazard, lax oversight and foolhardy underwriting all contributed to the crisis in finance. Another factor, less useful for sloganeers but no less insidious, was the simple mispricing of risk.

Bankrupt shopping mall owner General Growth Properties will be paying shareholders a dividend, the company announced late Friday.

Moody's Investors Service late Friday confirmed the 'Aa3' insurance financial strength ratings of Assured Guaranty Corp. (AGC) and Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AG Municipal).

The Federal Reserve has purchased more than $1 trillion in agency MBS to support the mortgage market this year and Fed officials are trying to wind down its $1.25 trillion purchase program by March 31.

Loan Value Group appointed Richard Santulli, former chairman and chief executive officer of NetJets, to its board as Chairman. It also appointed Michael Goodman, former CEO of J.G. Wentworth, to its board through Corridor Quadrant’s ownership position in Loan Value Group. Goodman will also take an active role as Managing Partner.

The New York Federal Reserve rejected three bonds for the December legacy CMBS Term ABS Loan Facility (TALF) subscription period, while accepting 55.