It appears the GSE "common" securitization platform will happen this year.

Citadel Servicing has raised $200 million in capital to originate residential subprime mortgages. Does this mean subprime lending is "back"? Answer: yes and no.

Officials at Redwood Trust took pains last week to defend differences in the real estate investment trust’s business model compared with other REITs that focus on investing in mortgage-backed securities. Some investors have been critical of low dividend payments from Redwood, but the REIT said its dividend payments are not directly comparable to other REITs. “Analysts and investors puzzle about how to categorize Redwood and how to value our company,” Martin Hughes and Brett Nicholas ...

Just when you thought the debate over fair value and historical amortized cost has faded into the sunset, along comes a new empirical study that reinforces the view that fair-value calculations are a better predictor of bank failure. Published by the American Accounting Association, the study suggests that leverage based on fair value provides the earliest signal of financial trouble – at least two to three years prior to failure compared to other measurements. This finding is consistent with ...

Credit Suisse came to market with its first jumbo MBS deal of the year with Quicken Loans dominating the collateral.

FHA staff could be furloughed if the federal sequester happens Thursday night.

Wells Fargo has not given up on mortgage lending JVs after all and has hired someone to manage them.

Freddie Mac hit an earnings home run in the fourth quarter, a sign that the GSE is "back." Fannie Mae may report early next week.

With the Federal Reserve’s MBS portfolio quietly passing the $1 trillion mark in mid-February for the first time since late 2010, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke this week continued to toe the party line on the historic level of support the central bank has provided to the MBS and Treasury markets. But there is more skepticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill and some Fed board members, and industry analysts are trying to dope out when the Fed buying spree will wind down. “After quadrupling its balance sheet engaging in unprecedented MBS asset purchases and creating an extended negative real interest rate environment, there is...

Credit Suisse this week obtained ratings on its first non-agency jumbo MBS of 2013 in a deal that includes sunsets for certain representation and warranties as well as a contribution from Two Harbors Investment, which has been working for years to issue non-agency MBS on its own. The $425.67 million CSMC Trust 2013-TH1 received AAA ratings from Fitch, DBRS and Standard & Poor’s. The top-rated tranche had a credit enhancement of 7.05 percent, well above the 5.85 percent level on Credit Suisse’s previous deals but in line with recent Redwood transactions. DBRS said...