Securitization

Fitch Ratings downgraded Advanta Corp.'s long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from 'C' to Restricted Default ('RD').

The Treasury Department circulated a proposal Monday to require originators to retain 5% of a loan's credit risk when selling it into the secondary markets.

The Federal Reserve has selected Trepp as a collateral monitor for legacy CMBS that fall under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF).

In the current low interest rate environment, European market mortgage underwriting policies on debt-to-income (DTI) ratios could lead to the weaker performance of floating-rate loans, according to Fitch Ratings.

New York-based Six Flags is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court, the company said in a statement.

RBS appointed Scott Lang as managing director and head of regional dealer sales for USD rates within its global banking and markets (GBM) division. Lang will be based in Stamford, CT.

Bankrupt subprime lender Fremont General Corp. of California agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it engaged in unfair loan practices in Massachusetts.

Fitch Ratings has observed a larger number of asset managers removing credit impaired assets at prices below par, resulting in realized loss to CDO collateral.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh lost $23.6 million for the first quarter of 2009, and as a consequence, it said it was unable to set aside any funds for affordable housing programs.

Overdues on securities backed by multifamily and retail commercial loans climbed 29 basis points in May to 2.07%, according to Fitch Ratings — the highest percentage of delinquencies since the company created a tracking index back in 2001.

Extension risk has risen with the back up in mortgage rates. Thisevent could impact ROEs substantially in a further sell-off, said Deutsche Bank Securities mortgage analysts.

Appleby announced its merger with Dickinson Cruickshank, the largest law firm in the Isle of Man.

Bermuda finalized a bilateral tax information exchange agreement with the Netherlands, bringing its total number of such agreements to 12 on June 8. Twelve is the required threshold for the country’s removal from the OECD’s “grey list” of tax havens.

New-York based BlackRock announced on June 11 its agreement to acquire Barclays’ asset management unit, Barclays Global Investors (BGI).

Every mortgage banker knows it takes a license to lend in any state, but what if your firm only services loans?

CIT Education Loan Trust 2009-1, a $679 million student loan ABS deal, is currently in the market. The transaction is led by Citigroup Global Markets.

There are signs that investors are gathering more capital for distressed debt investing, yet distressed investment seems to be lagging, even as the primary high yield market booms. Observers note that macroeconomic fears may be keeping investors away as defaults and bankruptcies are expected to spike.

Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has embraced the concept of creating an independent consumer protection agency with broad regulatory and enforcement powers over mortgage lender practices and products.

Kondaur Capital of Irvine, CA is working on a deal to buy "several thousand" nonperforming mortgages, said company president Jon Daurio.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published Financial Accounting Statements No. 166, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets, and No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R). These statements change the way entities account for securitizations and special-purpose entities (SPEs).