After seeing what’s transpired at Nationstar, Owen and Walter the pass year, would Dan Gilbert (who owns Quicken Loans) and Stan Middleman (Freedom’s owner) ever ponder going public?...
The European Commission last week requested comments on a framework for simple, transparent and standardized securitization that would apply to issuance in the European Union. A number of other non-U.S. regulators are considering similar proposals, prompting MBS and ABS participants in the U.S. to call for coordination among international regulators. The EC said its priority is to create a sustainable market for high-quality securitization without repeating the mistakes made before the financial crisis. “A high-quality EU securitization framework will promote further integration of EU financial markets, help diversify funding sources and unlock capital, making it easier for banks to lend to households and businesses,” the EC said. The European regulator stressed...
Morgan Stanley has agreed in principle with the Department of Justice to pay $2.6 billion to resolve MBS claims the agency’s civil division indicated it would bring against the company, according to a new disclosure from the Wall Street firm. Morgan Stanley’s disclosure about a potential MBS lawsuit by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California contained no other details. However, the firm increased its legal reserves by $2.8 billion to cover any potential settlement and other pending legacy-related MBS disputes. The adjustment increased...
Commercial banks and thrifts added $12.2 billion of agency single-family MBS to their investment portfolios during the fourth quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis of call-report data. Banks and thrifts held $1.539 trillion of MBS on their books at the end of last year, a slight 0.3 percent increase from the third quarter. Bank/thrift holdings were up 2.2 percent from the end of 2013. Growth in agency mortgage securities was...[Includes two data charts]
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated this week that the central bank ultimately plans on holding few, if any, mortgage-related securities on its balance sheet. It seems unlikely there will be much in the way of actual sales of agency MBS by the Fed, which leaves run-off as the method of choice to drain the central bank’s portfolio. Delivering her semi-annual Humphrey-Hawkins testimony this week on Capitol Hill, the Fed chief said the FOMC intends to adjust its monetary policy during its normalization process mostly by changing its target range for the federal funds rate and not by actively managing its balance sheet. “The primary means of raising the federal funds rate will be to increase the rate of interest paid on excess reserves,” Yellen said. She also noted...
As Republican leaders in Congress stake out hard-line positions on structural changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Democrats are responding by digging in their heels, raising the prospects of more gridlock. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-AL, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, recently stated his desire to pull the CFPB within the orbit of the congressional appropriations process. He is also interested in changing the leadership structure of the bureau from a single director to a governing board. Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-OR, and other Democrats are opposed...
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