A surge of student loan securitizations and ABS backed by credit provided to car dealers helped fuel a solid 21.4 percent increase in total non-mortgage ABS issuance during the second quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside MBS & ABS. Even with the second quarter rebound in new deals, issuance through the first six months of 2006 still lags the volume of new non-mortgage ABS produced in the first half of last… [Three data tables included]
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As part of a new strategy to upgrade its technological capabilities and streamline its operating infrastructure, Freddie Mac this week announced it will outsource its transaction processing and recordkeeping services for its massive MBS portfolio to a JPMorgan Chase subsidiary. JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services reports $11.7 trillion in assets under custody and services $7 trillion in debt worldwide. …
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Countrywide Financial ranked as the most active sponsor of non-agency MBS during the first half of 2006, capturing a 13.3 percent share of the total market with some $73.84 billion in issuance, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. Under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Reg AB, an MBS or ABS sponsor is the party that “organizes and initiates” the transaction by selling assets to the actual issuing entity, which is usually created under… [One data table included]
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Freddie Mac’s regulator hopes to reach a voluntary agreement with the government-sponsored enterprise by the end of the month that would include a portfolio cap, but just how much progress is being made is hard to ascertain, as officials are being tight-lipped about the ongoing discussions. One of the first things that James Lockhart did when he took over as director at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight was to announce a wide-ranging settlement…
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Standard & Poor’s this week released criteria for rating a relatively new form of adjustable-rate mortgage: option ARMs that feature an extended initial fixed-rate period. The so-called hybrid option ARM has more payment certainty than the most common form of option ARM, which features monthly rate adjustments that typically begin within three months of origination. Under the new program, rates are fixed for up to seven years. …
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Structured finance collateral such as non-agency MBS and non-mortgage ABS account for most of the assets backing collateralized debt obligations issued during the first half of 2006, according to a new analysis by the Bond Market Association. The BMA reports that $177.04 billion of new CDOs were issued during the first half of this year, a hefty 63.3 percent increase from the $108.45 billion issued during the same period in 2005. CDO production rose slightly…
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