Key lawmakers in the House appear intent on giving a new federal agency expanded authority to regulate the size and growth of the investment portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the two largest MBS investors in the market. The bipartisan bill introduced...
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week stood by their retained mortgage portfolios and rejected provisions in new legislation that would give their regulator expanded powers to rein them in. Testifying at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the proposals...
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Inspired by the success of Washington Mutual’s covered bond program issued last year, Bank of America has launched a new Euro 20 billion covered bond program that won triple-A ratings from both Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Under the program, BACBI...
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Ocwen Financial Corp. and a handful of investors have committed to invest up to $250 million in a new company that will purchase lower tranches of residential mortgage backed-securities and related mortgage servicing rights. Industry observers say Ocwen’s new venture...
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With delinquencies on the rise, subprime servicers have their work cut out for them. But they should be up to the task, according to Standard & Poor’s. In a recent report, S&P analyst Robert Mackey said he is “confident that servicers are taking proactive measures...
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw some shrinkage in their mortgage securities holdings in 2006, but still ranked as the largest investors in the market, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. The two government-sponsored enterprises.... [Includes one chart]
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The thrift industry became a considerably smaller player in the mortgage-securities market during the fourth quarter of 2006, mostly as a result of several large acquisitions that shifted assets to the commercial banking sector. Savings institutions... [Includes two charts]
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With final reports for the first year under Reg AB due in less than three weeks, servicers seem to have avoided the major compliance problems some predicted. Auditors monitoring servicer filings noted that while Reg AB is more strict than previous Uniform Single...
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As lenders and investors continue to distance themselves from the deteriorating subprime market, many insiders are watching closely the Alt A market, looking for indications that it will be the next to falter. Now, Alt A delinquencies appear to be on the rise...
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