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Inside MBS & ABS

February 4, 2011

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House GOP Launches Salvo to End Fannie, Freddie Conservatorships, Schedules Additional Hearings

The GSE hunting season officially opened in the Republican-controlled House this week. Republican lawmakers embedded a plan to dismantle the two government-sponsored enterprises as part of a spending reduction package, in addition to two narrower bills that would subject the GSEs to greater transparency while they remain... Read More

Business Condemns, Plaintiffs Attorneys Applaud FCIC Plan to Post Investigation Documents to Online Archive

The Federal Crisis Inquiry Commission intends to post thousands of pages of internal documents, interview transcripts and other “raw materials” gathered during the course of its investigation of the financial crisis onto its website. The business sector is in outrage, nervous that plaintiffs attorneys will scour... Read More

Covered Bonds Still Face Hurdles to Filling The Role Played by Mortgage Securitization

A key Congressional champion of covered bonds is in position to move legislation creating a regulatory framework, and there is intense interest in resolving the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a greater role for private firms. But covered bonds are still seen... Read More

Agency MBS Production Slumped in January as Refinance Surge Weakened

The volume of new agency MBS issued in January dropped 11.2 percent from the previous month to its lowest level since August 2010, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issued a total of $136.1 billion in new single-family MBS during January. Monthly production volume climbed...[Includes one data chart] Read More

Time Running Out to Boost Fannie/Freddie HARP Refi Activity Before Program Folds

Look for the window of opportunity to boost GSE refinance activity – either through policy or legislative tweaks – to slowly but surely close through 2011 as rising rates and the soon-to-expire Home Affordable Refinance Program translate into an increasingly less hospitable refi environment, experts say. Rolled out... Read More

FHFA, Implementing Dodd-Frank, Looks for Alternatives to Credit Ratings in GSE Regs

The regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises, like other federal bank regulators, is considering alternatives to credit ratings as it moves to fulfill its obligations under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Early this week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency released... Read More

Analysts See Positive Dividends for Mortgage REITs in 2011, Less to Cheer About in Share Prices

Higher prepayments and lower investment spreads are likely to result in weaker earnings in the fourth quarter for mortgage REITS that invested in agency MBS, though non-agency MBS REITs are expected to fare somewhat better with increased prepayments, according to analysts with Keefe Bruyette & Woods. A KBW analysis of residential mortgage REIT earnings showed... Read More

Group Calls for Servicing Standards in Future Federal Regulation of Non-Agency MBS Market

It may take more than a 5 percent retained interest and stiff new disclosure and reporting requirements for potential issuers to revive the non-agency MBS market as federal regulators appear to be looking for ways to boost servicing practices. An interagency group designing new risk-retention rules for non-agency MBS, non-mortgage ABS and commercial MBS issuers is being deluged... Read More

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