The Federal Housing Finance Agency may be close to picking a chairman to head the common securitization platform project, which still does not have a chief executive officer, according to one source briefed on the matter. This official, who requested his name not be used, said there are two prospects for the chairman slot, “but FHFA still hasn’t decided on one.” The CSP, formally known as Common Securitization Solutions LLC, is a joint venture equally owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. CSS recently signed a lease on office space in Bethesda, MD, just outside the District of Columbia.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still weighing final risk-to-capital rules for mortgage insurance firms that conduct business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with a target release date of mid-December, MI executives told Inside The GSEs. MI sources with knowledge of the situation said the FHFA will likely issue a risk-to-capital minimum of 18:1 compared to the current standard of 25:1. Also, there is talk of a phase-in period and “bi-furcation” for legacy versus new companies.

It is no longer a question of “if” the Federal Housing Finance Agency will have a new head but rather “how soon.” When that occurs, the question will shift to “what’s next,” say industry observers. Following its return from Thanksgiving recess, the U.S. Senate could move as early as next Tuesday to vote to confirm Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, President Obama’s pick to run the FHFA. The nominations of Watt and Janet Yellen to head the FHFA and the Federal Reserve, respectively, are tethered on the Senate’s agenda by design.

Brokers and the trade groups that represent them believe new regulations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put them at a competitive advantage to lenders that actually fund mortgages.

“Our estimate of legal and rep and warrant reserves for the largest banks is a total of roughly $60 billion,” S&P writes in a new report. “We estimate that the largest banks may need to pay out an additional $55 billion to $105 billion to settle mortgage-related issues, some of which is already accounted for in these reserves.”

Ed DeMarco might possibly name a chairman for the CSP platform and let Mel Watt have the final say on the CEO slot. Two mortgage executives interviewed for the CEO job include Peter Carroll and Luke Hayden.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency late this week released proposed criteria for rating non-QMs, making it the second rating service to formally seek comments on such criteria.

The agencies securitized just $35.46 billion of refinance loans during November, down 15 percent from the previous month, and refinances accounted for 44 percent of total issuance.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, an internal cop for the U.S. securities industry, has proposed a narrower definition of “asset-backed security” to facilitate the reporting of certain transactions, including Rule 144A ABS transactions, to the group’s disclosure system. The new redefined ABS category would apply to a broad group of securities, including ABS pools backed by credit-card receivables, student loans, auto loans and other products and instruments that currently fall under the ABS umbrella. The proposed changes concern required reporting to FINRA’s Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine. Under FINRA’s proposal, ABS is...

With Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, expected to be officially installed as the permanent director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency as soon as next week, the change could slow the use of risk-sharing deals at the government-sponsored enterprises and progress on the common securitization platform. Of particular concern to investors in the risk-sharing deals is the role mortgage insurance companies play in the transactions. According to industry observers, current FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco would like...