Securitization

General Growth Properties (GGP) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier today.

Robert Houston, CEO of the investment management business of ING Real Estate, has announced his plans to step down from the role on Aug. 1.

Citibank came to market with two 144A credit card deals in March from its Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust.

Babson Capital Management has hired Wachovia’s former vice president of structured debt finance as a product manager in its global business development group.

The Treasury Department is providing $9.9 billion to six major mortgage servicers for successful loan modification incentives that will be paid not only to them but to borrowers and investors.

Residential mortgage originations at Wells Fargo and other banks receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) assistance rose at a "healthy" clip in February from January, according to a monthly lending survey compiled by the Treasury Department.

The European Commission's (EC) November 2008 target for adopting the Solvency II framework directive was missed.

Fitch Ratings says the outlook for the global residential market and RMBS ratings remains negative in 2009 as loan defaults are expected to increase while prepayments will slow considerably.

Student loan issuer Sallie Mae is in the market with its second deal in 2009 from its SLM Student Loan Trust.

At a time when most credit card issuers are pulling back, Alliance Data Systems Corp. is trying to navigate the recession by expanding its private-label portfolio.

The cost to service residential mortgages is rising significantly, according to preliminary research conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

New York Mortgage Trust (NYMT), a real estate investment trust that securitizes prime residential mortgages, has invested $9 million in the Cratos CLO I, marking its first foray into alternative investments.

Continuing its recent spate of high-level hires, RBC Capital Markets said Tuesday it has brought on John Case, the former co-head of Americas real estate investment banking at UBS, as a managing director to co-lead the mid-market bank’s U.S. real estate banking group.

Maxim Group hired four fixed-income professionals for its structured credit sales and trading group.

Many investors have been moving up in coupon for quite some time given the attractive carry and muted prepayment speeds resulting from credit impairment.

A new €243 million ($320 million) collateralized bond obligation pool open to French regional not-for-profit hospitals began marketing last week.

Herbert Allison's expected move from Fannie Mae's executive suite to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is raising questions about how the Obama administration views the top positions at the government-sponsored enterprises.

Bank of America (BoA), which releases first quarter earnings shortly, is facing more writedowns on its Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC)-related mortgage holdings, according to a new report from Credit Suisse.

Servicer guidance along with the net present value (NPV) test for the Obama administration's new loan modification program will be issued "very soon," according to Federal Housing Finance Agency director James Lockhart.

An affiliate of Ellington Fund Management, an Old Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund specializing in mortgage bond investments and CDOs, plans to go public, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.