Securitization

On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on covered bonds backed by high-quality mortgages and consumer loans, a European market some U.S. legislators believe could become more influential in the U.S. and help fill in the gap left by the still-moribund MBS market.

CIT Group, which emerged from its 38-day bankruptcy last week, announced it will commit $500 million to its small business lending program for government guaranteed loans.

Bridger Commercial Funding will resume originating new commercial real estate loans on income-producing properties, the firm said today.

The commercial origination and servicing business of bankrupt Capmark Financial Group has been acquired by Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, a joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corp.

Fitch Ratings launched a number of changes to its CDO SMART surveillance Web page, which is designed to enhance the level of disclosure on a multi-issuer of covered bonds deals.

Former TCW fund manager Jeffrey Gundlach has formed a strategic relationship with Oaktree Capital Management, which will back his new firm DoubleLine, according to a release from the new firm.

The U.S. House of Representatives just passed sweeping regulatory reform legislation that includes language on financial reforms that support a recovery in the commercial real estate finance market.

DBRS is requesting comments on the proposed rating methodology for U.S. servicer advance deals backed by reimbursement rights for advances made to RMBS trusts, a release from the agency said.

The House passed a regulatory reform bill 223 to 202 on Friday that would significantly reshape the financial framework.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has given Ambac Financial Group 10 days to respond to a notice issued late Wednesday warning the bond insurer it could be delisted for failing to maintain a minimum share value of $1.00 for the 30 trading days ending Dec. 8.

Over 759,050 struggling borrowers have received temporary mortgage payment relief under the Obama Administration's loan modification effort, but only 4.1% have succeeded in landing permanent modifications, according to a monthly progress report on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Congress has opened a new front in the battle over federal preemption — just as lawmakers reached a compromise on the original question.

The House approved dozens of changes late Thursday to the financial regulatory reform bill, including measures to enhance the Federal Reserve Board's power to break up large, complex firms and cap a potential debt guarantee program by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

Citadel Investment Group's institutional markets head Peter Santoro recently stepped down from his duties, a source familiar with the situation told Investment Management Weekly yesterday.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide yesterday completed a securitization involving the issuance of $166 million of notes by SVO 2009-B VOI Mortgage Corp.

Consultancy and software firm Risk Integrated released its Generalized Finance System, a Web-based risk measurement and reporting platform that allows banks to run stress tests more securely.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is expected to rule on two matters Tuesday stemming from new accounting standards for off-balance-sheet assets.

The Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund and Eaton Vance Short Duration Diversified Income Fund, both closed-end investment funds, have been authorized to participate in the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility (TALF) beginning Dec. 14.

The fair value (FV) of loans at major U.S. banks relative to their carrying amount dipped along with the beginning of the recession in 2007, Fitch Ratings said in a new report.

Moody's Investors Service's latest CMBS Delinquency Tracker (DQT) reported that the aggregate rate of delinquencies among CMBS conduit and fusion loans is at 4.47%. The results are based on the data through the end of November.