Securitization

Bank of America is hiring thousands of new employees to keep up with surging residential originations even though its mortgage business posted a $500 million loss for the first quarter due to deteriorating loan performance.

The GMAC Bank unit of Residential Capital (ResCap) is expanding its mortgage warehouse lending operations, a spokeswoman for the company confirmed.

In a report, Fitch Ratings said that 21 newly delinquent assets led to a rise in U.S. commercial real estate loan (CREL) CDO delinquencies.

Fannie Mae veteran Michael Williams was appointed as chief executive of the GSE on Monday, making him the company’s third leader in less than a year.

Standard & Poor’s has fully integrated VantageScore into LEVELS 6.6, the rating agency's U.S. mortgage analytical model.

The U.K. government is expected to unveil a £50 billion ($73.4 billion) boost to the mortgage market. It aims to accomplish this goal by underwriting billions in MBS to help lenders fund new loans.

Independent specialist financial services consulting firm bfinance announced the results from its latest Pension Funds and Insurance Asset Allocation Survey conducted among European and North American institutional investors.

A survey conducted by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers (IACPM) shows that credit investors believe credit spreads will widen along with the number of defaults.

Avenue Capital Group is looking to sell its division that oversees high yield bonds and leveraged loans within the next two months, according to a source familiar with the matter.

William Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recognized Saturday that investors have been hesitant to participate in the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) out of concern that borrowing money from the central bank might arouse scrutiny from Congress.

President Barack Obama nominated Fannie Mae chief executive Herbert Allison Friday to be the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial stability, putting him in charge of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing April 23 on a regulatory reform bill that would restrict nonprime mortgage lending and lender compensation.

Citigroup reported $1.9 billion in net credit losses on its residential mortgage portfolio in the first quarter, up from $887 million a year ago, due to a "continued rise" in delinquencies, the company said.

GMAC Mortgage said it is hiring new staffers at its nationwide lending and servicing centers. On April 13, the company joined the Home Affordable Modification Program and the hires are needed to accommodate the increase in loan modifications, as well as the recent surge in refinance activity.

Irish Nationwide posted a loss of €243 million ($318 million) after the building society set aside €464 million to cover potential losses from bad loans made to property developers and a dramatic contraction of its loan book hit its income.

Standard & Poor's Chief European Economist Jean-Michel Six recently discussed the housing market slump in a public panel discussion for European investors.

Two important tender offers have been launched in the European CMBS market in the past two weeks.

Private investment firm Belstar Group appointed two senior investment professionals Jeffrey Moses and Simina Farcasiu.

Fair Isaac Corp. is offering Mortgage Recovery Initiative (MRI), a foreclosure prevention and management tool based on consumer credit behavior feedback.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Mary Schapiro said yesterday that the SEC will propose new rules for rating agencies, stemming from a broad but "intense review" of how to restore confidence in the financial system.