Fannie Mae made its second foray of 2011 into the non-agency MBS market by providing a guarantee wrap on a $690.6 billion deal backed by previously modified FHA and VA mortgages. Government Loan Securitization Trust 2011-FV1 is comprised of government loans originated by Wells Fargo and Wachovia. All the loans were previously securitized in non-agency MBS backed by Fannie wraps, including some that date back to 2001. The average age of the loans since modification is 132 months, and 91.2 percent of them are insured by the FHA. According to the prospectus, 19.8 percent of the loans were 30-days delinquent and 35.9 percent were more than...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week became among the latest, most influential parties to legally weigh in on the proposed $8.5 billion Bank of America settlement over non-agency mortgage-backed securities.On Aug. 30, the deadline to file objections to the deal, the Finance Agency filed a “Notice of Appearance and Conditional Objection” with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Obama administration is seeking ideas from stakeholders on how to thin out the FHA’s inventory of foreclosed homes, including turning the homes into rental properties to meet the growing need for affordable housing. In addition to addressing the FHA’s real estate-owned, or REO, problem, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are also calling for recommendations for similar home rental programs for REO properties held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The agencies’ request is aimed at finding the best alternative for “maximizing value to taxpayers and increasing private investment in the housing market, including ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has developed a new Web-based tool which allows FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to map all foreclosed properties for viewing by potential investors and homebuyers. The new mapping tool displays the location of all foreclosed homes in the agencies’ inventories, which account for nearly half of all real estate-owned or REO properties in the U.S. Communities with high foreclosure rates that are participating in HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) will find the REO portal useful in targeting federal funds to acquire, rehabilitate or demolish these REO properties, according to department officials. The map’s consolidated graphic listing enables ...

The consensus among mortgage market watchers is that the downgrade earlier this month of the GSEs by Standard & Poor’s will have no immediate, detrimental impact even as Fitch Ratings this week said it is keeping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s “AAA” rating.Fitch this week also said its outlook for Fannie and Freddie’s ratings remained “stable.” The move was in concert with Fitch’s decision to keep its rating on U.S. debt at the highest grade.“A key element of the explicit support is the guarantee by the U.S. Treasury to inject funds into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so that each firm can avoid being considered technically insolvent by their regulator,” said the rating agency.

The rush to Treasuries that resulted from investor fears about the U.S. and European economies has pushed interest rates closer to the level where a major mortgage refinance wave could start to take shape, but analysts say it’s a good time to load up on agency MBS. “The Fed’s commitment to keep interest rates low until at least mid 2013 strongly improves demand technicals for MBS, in our view,” said analysts at Credit Suisse in a report issued after the Federal Open Market Committee vowed to keep rates at historically low levels for at least two more years. “This provides ...

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman blew the whistle on a pending settlement between Bank of America and MBS investors worth $8.5 billion for Countrywide non-agency MBS issued before the financial crisis. Schneiderman last week filed a lawsuit against Bank of New York Mellon – a party to the settlement – for allegedly committing fraud while acting as trustee for MBS trusts securitized by BofA, and asked the court to reject the settlement proposal. “In negotiating the proposed settlement, BNYM labored under a conflict of interest because it stands ...

Nationally recognized statistical rating organization Kroll Bond Rating Agency demonstrated its optimism in the non-agency market by requesting public comment this week on its rating methodology for evaluating residential MBS. “By providing complete transparency into our approach and processes, we aim to instill trust in the market and to raise the bar on ratings accuracy,” said James Nadler, Kroll’s president, in a statement. “These [publications on our proposed rating process] demonstrate our strong commitment to serving the market through a rigorous evaluation of the collateral as well as key parties in an RMBS, and combine all aspects of...

MBS and ABS investors would have an easier time organizing to press deal sponsors to address potential problems under a revised proposed rule on shelf registration that was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission this week. The agency made several major changes to its proposed overhaul of shelf eligibility requirements that was aired back in 2010 and put the revised package out for public comment. Most of the changes reflect public comment on the original proposal as well as the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the latest proposal, MBS and ABS issuers would be required to ...

Trustees of residential MBS should consider themselves “on notice” that they need to be much more attentive and aggressive in meeting their obligations under the pooling and servicing agreements governing MBS trusts, according to a trade group representing investors. Last week, the Association of Mortgage Investors sent letters to several major MBS trustees – including JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo and Bank of New York – remind-ing them of their legal obligations to RMBS certificate holders. The AMI letter also informed trustees that ...