New issuance of mortgage securities declined again in the first quarter of 2010 as the refinance boom that fueled last year’s recovery continued to lose momentum. A total of $314.52 billion of new MBS were issued during the first three months of the year, down 13.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market... [Includes two charts]
Read More
A group of MBS and ABS investors this week called on the federal government to create a set of aggressive legal requirements for asset securitizations by focusing on increased disclosure, more standardization and a fiduciary obligation on servicers. The Association of Mortgage Investors said in a white paper released this week that MBS and ABS investors have been...
Read More
The Treasury Market Practices Group said this week that it is expanding its activities to include the agency MBS and debt markets and may dig into the issue of failed MBS trades. The TPMG, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said it wants to help establish best practices in trading and settlement of agency MBS and debt, in part because... [Includes one graph]
Read More
The Obama administration’s new principal reduction option under the Home Affordable Modification Program and new FHA refinance program for underwater borrowers should be positives for investors in senior MBS classes and could boost Ginnie Mae issuance but they also increase the level of moral hazard in the market, according to various market analysts. “The key conclusion for...
Read More
Wisconsin insurance regulators last week seized $35 billion of Ambac Assurance Corp.’s worst mortgage-related policies and isolated them in a separate rehab account until the company regains stability. In New York, regulators extended FGIC’s deadline to resolve severe capital impairment. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance took control of Ambac Assurance...
Read More
The latest attempt by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-NJ, to gain support for legislation on a sustainable covered bond market in the U.S. hasn’t gained major traction on Capitol Hill yet, but analysts from Moody’s Investors Service said the most recent bill is comprehensive and would address key uncertainties restricting the acceptance of covered bonds in the U.S...
Read More
New issuance of real estate mortgage investment conduits backed by agency MBS increased 23 percent in the first quarter of 2010, accounting for 37.2 percent of total agency issuance. Ginnie Mae was the top agency REMIC issuer with $54.56 billion in volume, more than six times the amount produced in the first three months of 2009. Fannie and... [Includes two charts]
Read More