Cart

Inside MBS & ABS

March 18, 2011

View Archived Issues

FHFA Announces One-Year Extension of HARP, Experts Predict Minimal Impact on GSE Refi

Expect the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s decision to extend the Home Affordable Refinance Program by one year to have a positive but very modest impact on refinance activity at the government-sponsored enterprises, experts say. HARP – a refinance program for underwater and nearly underwater Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers – had been scheduled...[Includes one data chart] Read More

Covered Bonds Can Help Smaller Lenders Too; FDIC Insists on Market Discipline, Protecting the DIF

Covered bonds are widely considered a securitization option for large financial institutions, but some experts say a regulatory framework in the U.S. could create room for small and mid-size lenders to get involved too. “As the financial markets have changed... Read More

CBO: Curbing the GSEs Would Help Reduce Federal Deficit

Reducing the government’s role in the mortgage market already enjoys support from the Obama administration and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and the Congressional Budget Office has chimed in saying such steps could also ease the government’s spending deficit. Lowering the conforming loan limit to $417,000 in 2012 and freezing it there would reduce... Read More

Mortgage Securitization Rate Edges Slightly Lower in 2010 Thanks to Agency Domination

Securitization remained the dominant method of financing new residential mortgages during 2010 despite the fact that the non-agency MBS market remains in shambles. Some 84.9 percent of the $1.570 trillion of home loans originated last year were pooled...[Includes one data chart] Read More

Upturn in ABS, MBS Markets Prompts Investors To Increase Purchases in the Next 6-12 Months

Structured finance investors and issuers are showing greater confidence in the ABS and MBS market, according to a recent study by Principia Partners. Analysts at Principia, a software provider to structured finance investors, said they found... Read More

Treasury Official Says Agency Is Looking Closely At Future of TBA Market in Mortgage Reform

The future of the to-be-announced MBS market may not have gotten much attention in the Obama administration’s white paper on secondary mortgage market reform, but a Treasury official said the agency is studying the issue. During a panel session at a Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conference this week, Jeff Foster, senior policy advisor on capital markets at the Treasury Department, said... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results