Securitization

Panelists discussed similar housing themes to those that were covered in 2011 at the ASF 2012 Future of U.S. Mortgage Finance panel.

There was much focus on the U.S. consumer at American Securitization Forum's (ASF) ASF 2012 held in Las Vegas.

It may be too early to declare who the winner is, but Bank of America's willingness to settle the $8.5 billion Countrywide suit hints at how big the litigation problem might be for mortgage originators in the courts today.

Monolines that have brought MBS lawsuits to court have used the same facts that class actions and put-back claims have made, but have used a different theory of law as a legal basis for their arguments.

If you are in a class action and someone is representing you, you have the right to "opt out" and bring your own action.

Put-back litigation continues to be a fight for information. Trustees might know that loans within the securitization pool are in breach, the question is whether they are willing to provide the information to investors who need it.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is changing the way it monitors the loan performance of its largest lenders as part of a rule to clarify and codify its indemnification practices.

This week's activity was largely dictated by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)statement released mid-day on Wednesday. The FOMC's statement effectively aligned the MBS stars: low rates, attractive carry and relative yield, along with increased odds of quantitative easing 3.

Fitch Ratings said specially serviced CMBS loans have been increasing since last quarter and are probably going to continue on this trend.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director of Enforcement Robert Khuzami today detailed the core mission of the new Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group announced by President Obama in the State of the Union address.

A new national refinancing program unveiled by President Obama earlier in the week will rely on the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to refinance private and GSE mortgages, according to a report from Federal Financial Analytics in Washington.

GE Capital is in the market with GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust Series 2012-2 worth approximately $563 million.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will reportedly chair President Barack Obama's new committee investigating the mortgage-backed securities that are the center of several mortgage litigation claims by private investors.

Lloyds Banking Group plans to sell a U.K. RMBS from its Arkle master issuer program, according to a Bloomberg report. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are managing the sale.

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) this morning proposed new rules for troubled debt restructurings that will cover how all federally insured credit unions account for delinquencies, charge-offs and income related to troubled home mortgages and member business loans, as well as for how those loans are reported on NCUA's quarterly Call Reports.

Foreign banks continue to drive volume of RMBS litigation claims filed in New York state court. The latest claim is a $1.2 billion lawsuit against Morgan Stanley filed by German lender Bayerische Landesbank.

JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday told a federal court in Wichita, Kansas that National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) negligence suit against top executives of WesCorp Federal Credit Union proves that it was the shortcomings of corporate executives – and not any misrepresentations by the Wall Street bank’s sales force in the sale of mortgage-backed securities – that caused the failure of WesCorp and three other corporate credit unions.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said President Obama's decision to expand investigations into home lending and sales of MBS could stop settlement talks with the states over foreclosure practices.

The Federal Reserve will not sell any of its massive holdings of agency MBS and Treasurys until 2015 as it strives to keep interest rates low, central bank officials said Wednesday afternoon.