The rating services continue to face criticism from legislators and regulators regarding their culpability in the current mortgage market turmoil. As members of Congress prepare to grill representatives from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service... Read More

The commercial banking industry ended up with a slight gain in its aggregate holdings of mortgage securities at the end of the second quarter, although several of the top players made significant changes in their portfolios... [Includes three charts] Read More

While it’s widely acknowledged that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have reaped some competitive benefits from the freefall in the non-agency market, the other government-sponsored enterprises – the Federal Home Loan Banks – have also seen their fortunes bolstered... Read More

Freddie Mac reported this week further evidence that the market’s continuing troubles mean a lot of good things for its own business, including a 16 percent annualized growth rate for its guaranty business in the second quarter.“This is an about-face from the... Read More

Rate-spread mortgages – a bureaucrat’s proxy for subprime loans – appear to travel through several hands before they wind up in non-agency MBS, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. Lenders subject... [Includes one chart] Read More

Standard & Poor’s retained its status as the top player in the rating of non-agency mortgage securities through the first six months of the 2007, putting its stamp on 95.6 percent of deals rated during that period. That was up from... [Includes two charts] Read More