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Inside MBS & ABS

February 6, 2009

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Despite Slow December, GSE Portfolios Grew Sharply in Fourth Quarter of 2008

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac used their portfolios to help boost the slumping U.S. mortgage market during the fourth quarter, increasing their retained mortgage investments by 6.3 percent during the last three months of the year. Together, the two government-sponsored enterprises held $1.592 trillion of mortgages and MBS in their portfolios at... [Includes two charts] Read More

Cramdown Legislation Could Lead to Higher Losses in MBS Deals, Rating Agencies Warn

Despite its potential to reduce foreclosures and restore stability to the housing market, proposed mortgage cramdown legislation could also increase bankruptcy losses in residential MBS transactions but is not likely to trigger immediate ratings downgrades, according to credit rating agencies. In separate analyses, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service... Read More

S&P Announces Detailed Focus On RMBS Loan Modifications

Standard & Poor’s says it will analyze loan modification proposals under a variety of scenarios to assess the potential impact from a loss mitigation tool that increasingly is the focus of industry and government efforts to tame the foreclosure contagion. “Loan modifications have become an increasingly important tool for reducing U.S. residential home foreclosures and... Read More

Fannie Hopes New Mega Security Will Boost Liquidity, Ease Handling of REMIC Securities

Fannie Mae has developed a new Mega security to facilitate the resecuritization of outstanding Fannie REMIC tranches back to the original underlying pass-through collateral cash flows, “thereby providing MBS market participants with enhanced liquidity and increased ease of operational management of outstanding REMIC securities,” the company said. The government-sponsored... Read More

Fannie Plans Streamlined Refi Program

Fannie Mae is rolling out a new streamlined refinance product that could reignite primary market momentum that has stalled in recent weeks over rising prices. The government-sponsored enterprise in early April will begin processing “DU Refi Plus” loans through its automated underwriting service, Desktop Underwriter... Read More

FASB Seeks Comment on Increased Fair Value Disclosures in Financial Statements

The Financial Accounting Standards Board last week issued a proposed staff position to require disclosures about the fair value of financial instruments in both interim and annual financial statements to improve the quality and transparency of information provided to users of financial statements. The board also determined that more frequent fair-value disclosures would... Read More

Senate Banking Committee Insisting On Tougher TARP This Time Around

Lawmakers on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee are demanding that the Treasury Department come up with a framework for spending the next $350 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program that will require banks to increase lending. Jaws hit the floor in the Senate committee room when Congressional Oversight Panel Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren revealed a... Read More

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