Federal regulators have offered few clues on what is next for proposed qualified residential mortgage regulations, and the uncertainty in the marketplace has been cited as an impediment to the resumption of non-agency securitization. “The agencies are carefully evaluating all of the comments received and are now actively engaged in considering the many issues raised as we determine how best to proceed with the risk-retention rulemaking,” Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said last week. The extended comment period on the proposed rule closed in August ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the City of Chicago this week to keep it from enforcing its recently amended “Vacant Buildings Ordinance” against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The move may provide servicers a way to fight the ordinance without bringing upon themselves any enforcement action from the city while the litigation is pending, according to some observers. “The City of Chicago is interfering unlawfully with FHFA’s federally mandated oversight and exercise of discretion, as conservator...

Industry experts and trade groups said this week they were generally supportive of a House Republican bill to create a new non-agency residential MBS market, but they still want the government to have a role, however limited, in the final product. The Private Mortgage Market Investment Act, drafted but not yet filed by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ, would create a heavily regulated MBS market made up solely of private entities that would function with no federal guarantee at all. Garrett, who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government...

Foreign investors are the leading purchasers of Ginnie Mae MBS and may reinvest next year only in Ginnies for “safety” and to prepare for new tougher rules on capital and liquidity under the Basel III accord, according to analysts. Foreign investors currently hold $620 billion of the $3.45 trillion in U.S. MBS, and half of that is Ginnie Mae MBS. JPMorgan Securities analysts expect the Ginnie share of foreign MBS holdings to increase in 2012. They also expect U.S. banks to increase their Ginnie Mae purchases. Purchases by overseas investors, with an extra...(Includes one data chart)

Home prices remain under stress. The CoreLogic Home Price Index shows that home prices have decreased 1.3 percent from September to October, making it the third consecutive month in which home prices have been on a downward slide. Looking at it from a wider scope, national home prices (including distressed sales) have decreased 3.9 percent from Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2011. Excluding distressed sales, Oct. 2011 posted a 0.5 percent yearly decline. States in the best shape, when including distressed sales, are West Virginia, with 4.8 percent price appreciation; South Dakota, with 3.1 percent...

The proposal drafted by a senior House Republican that aims to lure private capital into the secondary mortgage market received the general support of industry witnesses at a hearing this week, but Democratic lawmakers say repealing key features of the Dodd-Frank Act would be a non-starter. The Private Mortgage Market Investment Act, drafted but not yet filed by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ., would create a heavily regulated mortgage-backed securities market made up solely of private entities that would function with no federal guarantee at all. Under the bill, the Federal Housing...

The combined holdings of residential MBS by banks and thrifts topped the $1.5 trillion mark for the first time ever during the third quarter, as depository institutions without a lot of great alternative investment options continued to plow money into the market. Banks and thrifts held a record $1.533 trillion in residential MBS at the end of September, up 2.8 percent from the previous quarter and 10.4 percent ahead of the same period in 2010. Banks and thrifts held a combined 23.2 percent share of the outstanding residential MBS in the market. The biggest...(Includes two data charts)

In a blow to ratings agencies, a federal court in New Mexico has ruled that the First Amendment does not necessarily protect ratings services from lawsuits filed by disgruntled MBS investors. Judge James Browning ruled that the characteristics of MBS issued by Thornburg Mortgage and the way the ratings were disseminated may preempt free speech protection. The suit dates back to the spring of 2009, when plaintiffs that include the Genesee County Employees’ Retirement System, Midwest Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund and the Maryland-National Capital Park &...

Bank of America has settled two major securities fraud claims with various pensions funds and other investors in connection with Countrywide-related stocks and non-agency MBS. It also faces the prospect of a challenge by two state attorneys general, whose requests to intervene in another multi-billion dollar MBS case were granted by a New York federal court this week. The bank agreed to an undisclosed settlement amount with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the Government of Guam Retirement Fund and 14 other large pension and mutual fund investors. Accounting firm...

Most bond dealers expect the Federal Reserve to begin buying a substantial volume of MBS in an effort to stimulate an anemic economy, according to the results of a Bloomberg News survey of bond dealers. They project that the Fed could buy as much as $800 billion of MBS in 2012. The Fed would not respond to requests for comment regarding this plan, but the purchasing of MBS may be a part of a new round of quantitative easing for the market. Fed analysts claim that the agency’s first big MBS buying binge, between November 2008 and March 2010, helped push mortgage rates...