Securitization

The latest wave of proposed European regulations on rating agencies, known as CRA3, contains a rule that has unsettled players from every corner of the financial market: enforced ratings rotation.

It's rare that a bank gets paid to be an acquirer.

QE3 got a shot in the arm as the week started with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech about recent labor market developments.

Manager Activity: Autos Book Runner Amount (US$ Mil) Rank Mkt.

Experian Information Solutions' research indicates that, while the credit quality of auto loans may be slipping, it remains high enough to ensure the strong performance of the 2011 and 2012 vintages of securities backed by such loans.

A federal judge rejected an attempt by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to compel Wells Fargo & Co. to comply with an administrative subpoena, ordering the agency and the bank to meet to resolve their dispute over documents related to the agency's investigation of nearly $60 billion of RMBS.

Former head of securitized products research at Credit Suisse Dale Westhoff will be shifting his responsibilities at the firm.

The enhancement levels for the new Credit Suisse prime RMBS deal called CSFB Mortgage Securities 2012-CIM1 are not enough to support a triple-A rating, Fitch Ratings said today.

At least two more commercial note/REO auctions are scheduled for the beginning of April, according to Barclays Capital CMBS Weekly Strategy Report published today.

Investors ramped up their purchases of single-family homes last year to a level not seen since 2007 — and only half of those buyers financed the purchase. Almost half (49%) paid cash, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

A federal magistrate has ordered Space Coast Credit Union to a non-binding mediation session with lawyers from five Wall Street banks and two rating agencies regarding the credit union’s $100-million claim related to a failed investment the banks sold Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, a failed Miami credit union acquired by Space Coast in 2009.

Banc of Manhattan Capital, Woodland Hills, Calif., is taking bids on a $26 million pool of reperforming whole loans, servicing released.

Wells Fargo Securities analysts said today that the low interest rate environment might pose challenges for certain consumer ABS sectors, particularly as spreads further tighten.

Residential servicers completed 65,000 foreclosures in February, an 8% decline from the prior month and just about flat from the same period a year ago, according to new figures compiled by CoreLogic, Santa Ana, Calif.The firm said roughly 1.4 million homes -- 3.4% of all units encumbered by a mortgage — were in the foreclosure during the month, compared to 1.5 million in January.

New data shows that originations continue to grow in several categories — especially to subprime credit card customers.For bank credit cards, lending to subprime customers increased 41% from 2010 to 2011. Subprime borrowing hit a four-year high in December with 1.1 million new bank credit cards issued, according to a National Consumer Credit Trends Report produced by Equifax [EFX] and CreditForecast.com. CreditForecast.com is a joint venture of Equifax and Moody's Analytics.

Rialto Real Estate Fund is in the market with a new CMBS deal called Rialto Capital, Series 2012-LT1.

Nomura added a leveraged finance banker to its investment banking group in the Americas, the firm said.

Freddie Mac reported 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 3.99% with an average 0.7 point in the week ending March 29 compared to 4.08% with an average 0.8 point last week.Despite the improvement, refinancing activity outside of Home Affordable Refinance Program-related is not likely to be too motivated as the no point rate at 4.18% is still outside the incentive window for many of the borrowers underlying 3.5% and 4.0% coupons.

For now at least, the Obama administration is declining to endorse legislation by Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin that would allow borrowers to discharge their private student loan debt in bankruptcy.During a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was non-committal about the legislation, while at the same time suggesting that he is broadly sympathetic with Durbin's concerns about the private student loan market.