Securitization

Ocwen Financial Corp.'s net loss narrowed 46% from a year earlier to $3.7 million ($0.06 per share) last quarter as the servicer of subprime mortgages cut operating expenses.

BNP Paribas completely eliminated its distressed finance group, a spokeswoman confirmed.

FTN Financial analysts tried to gauge the potential changes to the prepayment landscape as a result of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's streamlined refinancing that have resulted from the government's housing plan.

Freddie Mac reported a decline in mortgage rates this week. "Mortgage rates had room to ease this week following news of a weaker jobs market, which may slow consumer spending and keep inflation at bay," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said

Foreclosures increased in February across all regions despite temporary halts by major banks and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to the latest U.S. Foreclosure Index released by Foreclosures.com.

Ginnie Mae's year-to-date issuance for the 2008 fiscal year jumped to $135.9 billion from $55.2 billion during the first five months of the previous fiscal year.

PNC Bank has decided to pull the plug on National City's warehouse lending operation, giving non-banks that borrowed from the unit 12 to 18 months to find new lenders, ASR sister publication National Mortgage News has learned.

Freddie Mac posted a $23.9 billion loss in the fourth quarter, noting that its regulator has filed a request with the U.S. Treasury for $30.8 billion in new funding to maintain the GSE's net worth position above zero.

NewOak Capital hired Tom McAvity as managing director to market the firm’s advisory, asset-management and capital markets services to the insurance industry and design customized solutions for insurers, banks and pension and endowment funds.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle has become the first bank in the 76-year history of the system to run out of retained earnings, triggering what once was an unthinkable scenario by "breaking the buck."

Yesterday the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Full Disclosure Act has been introduced by Reps. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., according to published reports.

The Luxembourg subsidiary of Icelandic bank Kaupthing will shed certain assets before being taken over by a Libyan consortium, according to market reports.

Standard & Poor's has assigned an 'A-1' credit rating to the new ABCP program called Churchill Loan Asset Securitization Program that was set up by Royal Bank of Scotland.

Bank of America funded $1.47 billion in reverse mortgages in the fourth quarter, ranking first nationwide, according to preliminary survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

Zacks Equity Research predicts that when Freddie Mac releases full-year results shortly the GSE will have lost $39.50 a share.

Cohen & Co. hired John McWilliams as managing director and head of asset and specialty finance with Cohen & Co. Securities, the firm's institutional broker-dealer focused on debt securities.

Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke said current accounting and capital policies for financial institutions are excessively "pro-cyclical" and need to be reformed.

NewOak Capital appointed Edward Napoli as managing director of business development to help market the firm’s advisory, asset-management and capital markets services and to be assistant general counsel.

Standard & Poor's will be supplementing its process for gathering information about the systems, personnel, and other resources available to managers of S&P-rated CLO deals.

Reeling from charges related to its mortgage holdings, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle reported deep losses late Monday and became the first bank in the system to exhaust its cushion of retained earnings.