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Inside MBS & ABS

May 21, 2010

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Bank MBS Holdings Decline Slightly in 1Q10, But Foreign Investors Are Buying

Commercial banks shifted their MBS holdings during the first quarter of 2010 but ended with a slightly smaller aggregate portfolio than they had at the end of last year, according to recently released call report data analyzed by Inside MBS & ABS. Overseas investors appeared to increase their holdings of U.S. MBS and ABS during the first quarter... [Includes two charts] Read More

FDIC Safe Harbor Proposal Would Benefit Consumer ABS Investors, Seems Workable for Most Issuers

The revised safe harbor proposal released last week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will likely be a plus for investors in consumer ABS without being too onerous for most issuers, according to one noted analyst, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some potential problems. “We generally view the requirements for safe harbor as achievable by most consumer ABS issuers... Read More

Senate Agrees to Compromise Retaining States’ Authority to Enforce Consumers Laws v. Banks

The Senate late this week cleared a procedural hurdle that likely paves the way for passage of a landmark reform bill that would set new rules for asset securitization and mortgage underwriting while overhauling federal oversight of financial markets. The lawmakers earlier in the week turned back a new Republican effort to address the fate of Fannie Mae and... Read More

Non-Agency Market ‘Close’ to Restarting, While Fed-Less Agency Sector Proceeding ‘Just Fine’

The long-moribund non-agency MBS market may be on the verge of coming out of its coma after virtually shutting down in the third quarter of 2008, a leading mortgage securities analyst told a gathering of industry professionals in the nation’s capital this week. “The non-agency sector is pretty close to starting its comeback. We are about 25 basis points away... Read More

Government Scrutiny of Wall Street MBS Activity Escalates as NY AG Cuomo Opens Another Front

Eight of the biggest banking players in the mortgage industry and the three largest credit rating services have been subpoenaed by NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to determine if they gave misleading information to the rating services about mortgage securities they sold to investors. The entities targeted by the probe include Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch... Read More

Secondary Market Players Preparing for Slow Return of Non-Agency MBS Sector

A recent non-agency residential MBS deal issued by California real estate investment trust Redwood Trust sparked hope of a reemerging market not propped up by the government, and the momentum may be snowballing. Even with regulatory overhaul still largely up in the air, experts say there are reasons to be optimistic. “I sense a real groundswell of enthusiasm around the... Read More

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