Securitization markets would gain more certainty regarding securities issuance going forward under legislation passed out of a House subcommittee this week that would restore to credit rating agencies their previous exemption from expert liability under the Securities Act of 1933. The exemption was removed with...

Some investors are ready to resume participation in the non-agency market while most others will take a wait-and-see approach, based on comments made at the secondary market conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association this week in New York City. Steve O’Connor, senior vice president of public policy and...

“The [jumbo] market is much bigger than the banks’ balance sheets,” according to Randy Robertson, a managing director and co-head of securitized products at BlackRock. The firm’s jumbo mortgage real-estate investment trust has been operating for four months and aims to help re-establish the...

Mandatory risk-retention requirements will severely limit non-agency mortgage originations and securitization, according to market participants. Even portfolio originations could be hindered due to the pending rule from federal regulators. “Loan availability is likely to be quite restricted in the...

Purchases of mortgage-backed securities via the Public-Private Investment Program have resulted in returns of about 27.0 percent for taxpayers, according to figures reported by the Treasury Department. However, the impressive profit is based on return on equity alone, excluding loans made to... [Includes one graph and one data chart]

While working to establish a jumbo whole loan conduit, PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust has been able to turn profits by investing in distressed mortgages. The real-estate investment trust avoided purchases of mortgage-backed securities during the first quarter of 2011 and increased its profits due to...

The House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises this week approved a mark-up of H.R. 940, “the U.S. Covered Bond Act of 2011.” The mark-up was approved by a voice vote, including two amendments, and is scheduled to receive consideration by the...

The consent orders agreed to recently by 14 mortgage servicers and two third-party service providers will have little impact on the servicing of FHA loans, according to compliance experts. The only areas where the orders might create additional obligations are requirements that the servicer establish a...

A provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act allowing federal agencies that insure mortgage loans to develop rules defining “qualified mortgages” (QM) for their loans may not be ideal for investors, according to industry attorneys. In addition to a recent Federal Reserve proposed rule on ability to repay ...

Wall Street analysts said it is unlikely banks will take losses on repurchased delinquent FHA mortgage loans, easing fears that FHA may not fully reimburse those losses due to servicing errors. Commenting on a report challenging banks’ policy of accruing interest on delinquent FHA loans, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said ...