Alleged manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate could have had a significant impact on investments in MBS and ABS, according to industry analysts. However, three weeks after Barclays Bank reached a settlement with regulators on LIBOR manipulation, major securities investors have yet to voice concerns about potential losses tied to the interest rate benchmark. Tom Deutsch, executive director of the American Securitization Forum, said he has not heard any “hubbub” from investors thus far about the impact of potential LIBOR manipulation. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Association of Mortgage Investors and the Association of Institutional Investors did not reply to requests for comment on the issue. Laurie Goodman, a senior managing director at Amherst Securities Group, said it is unknown...

Bank of America shareholders may proceed with their securities fraud lawsuit which claims that BofA concealed its potential problems with the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, exposing investors to risky mortgage securities, a federal judge ruled last week. However, U.S. District Judge William Pauley of the Southern District of New York determined that the shareholders, led by the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, can move forward only against the company itself and not against BofA executives. The investors filed suit in September 2011 alleging they had been misled into...

The vast majority of repurchase requests on mortgages in non-agency mortgage-backed securities were in dispute in the first quarter of 2012, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission 15Ga disclosures. However, industry analysts expect settlements to increase during the second half of this year. Securitizers reported $29.03 billion in mortgages in non-agency MBS with repurchase demands in the first quarter of 2012, with 98.6 percent of the volume classified as in dispute ... [Includes one chart]

Principal reduction loan modifications completed by five major banks as part of the national servicing settlement have not been applied disproportionately to mortgages in non-agency mortgage-backed securities, according to Fitch Ratings. Non-agency MBS investors have raised concerns that servicers that agreed to the recent $25.0 billion settlement will complete their mandated principal reduction mods on non-agency MBS instead of on portfolio loans. “Although still early, there has been no evidence of ...

Mortgage-backed security investors continue to claim that a proposal in San Bernardino County to seize certain mortgages in non-agency MBS via eminent domain is unconstitutional. They also warn that if the “Homeownership Protection Program” is implemented there will be negative consequences. “It could severely negatively impact the value of your home, it could scare away jobs from the desert, it could scare away new construction, it might even result in the inability to get a mortgage or financing anywhere in the county ...

In response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s request for comments on its recent strate-gic plan, the American Securitization Forum put out a white paper this week spelling out the mechanics and potential benefits of a blueprint to transition to a single agency security that could be issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “Implemented correctly, a single agency security could benefit all participants in the mortgage market, including borrowers, originators, investors and the taxpayer,” said ASF Executive Director Tom Deutsch. Current trading markets for Fannie MBS and Freddie PCs are...

Nationstar Mortgage LLC last week finalized its acquisition of more than $63.7 billion worth of servicing assets from Aurora Bank.Aurora Bank, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers, has been carved up to repay creditors of the bankrupt Wall Street firm that was a major player in the non-agency MBS market. Ocwen Financial had earlier purchased $1.8 billion in commercial servicing rights from Aurora. The Aurora mortgage servicing portfolio is comprised of 75 percent non-conforming loans in non-agency MBS and 25 percent conforming loans in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pools, according to...

A New York state appeals court last week upheld a lower court ruling which dismissed an investor group’s attempt to overturn Bank of America’s proposed $8.5 billion MBS settlement. The five-judge panel of New York’s First Department Appellate Division affirmed Judge Barbara Kapnick’s March 28 decision to dismiss the complaint brought by Walnut Place LLC and related entities. Walnut Place, which represents investors that bought about $1.4 billion of Countrywide non-agency MBS, filed suit in February 2011 claiming Countrywide made false representations on nearly 66 percent of the 2,166 mortgage...

Non-agency mortgage-backed security investors strongly oppose a proposal in California to reduce principal for borrowers with negative equity by acquiring mortgages via eminent domain. The proposal could set a troubling precedent according to non-agency MBS investors, who are still considering options to prevent such seizures. In June, San Bernardino County along with two cities in the county, Ontario and Fontana, approved a resolution that would allow the municipalities to acquire mortgages with negative equity using eminent domain ...

Subprime mortgage-backed securities offer returns of at least 10.0 percent per year for selective investors, according to Bill Roth, co-CIO at Two Harbors Investment. “We are able to assume the default of a significant portion of borrowers who are currently making their payments, assume a declining housing market and still be able to earn an attractive yield,” Roth said last week during a webinar hosted by the real estate investment trust. He added that home prices could decline by another 20 percent in the next year and ...