March 20, 2007

National Mortgage Bad News

From a skim of today's National Mortgage News, the news is not good. Mortgage lenders are cutting staff, purchase agreements for the sale of mortgage companies are being amended drastically to cut the sale price, Senate hearings are being scheduled, forclosure guidelines are getting lots of attention, Fannie Mae is selling off assets, the rating compainies can't seem to keep up with analyses to downgrade mortgage backed securities and mortgage companies.

The talk all seems to be about the secondary mortgage market. But one article stands out:
Wall Street wants to get its arms around rising subprime loan defaults as fast as possible so it can move forward with the least disruption to the markets...
In other words, Wall Street wants to staunch the spread of a liquidity crisis to other sectors of the economy.

NovaStar Cans 17% of Its Staff

Struggling subprime funder NovaStar Financial trimmed its work force by 17% -- 350 positions -- on Friday, citing the changing landscape of the mortgage industry. Click here for more...

People's Choice Shedding Workers?

People's Choice Financial Corp. -- which recently pulled a key registration statement with securities regulators -- is contemplating significant layoffs and has not funded a loan in more than a week, according to industry sources. Click here for more...

Accredited Facing Delisting

Accredited Home Lenders, San Diego, has been notified by the NASDAQ stock exchange that it will be delisted because it did not file its annual 10-K report by March 15. Click here for more...

Fieldstone Sale Price Cut by 28%

Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC will pay 28% less for Fieldstone Investment Corp., Columbia, Md., under an amended purchase agreement disclosed March 16. Click here for more...

Dodd Sets Subprime Hearing

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., says he is looking for ways to prevent millions of subprime borrowers from losing their homes and will be pressing regulators and industry representative for solutions at a March 22 committee hearing. Click here for more...

Reich: B&C Guidance Frowns on 2/28 'Steering'

The recently proposed federal subprime lending guidance reminds lenders that they should help consumers make informed choices and not steer them into 2/28 adjustable-rate mortgages when they might qualify for another product, according to Office of Thrift Supervision Director John Reich. Click here for more...

FTC Cites Foreclosure Guidelines

Servicers should not start foreclosure proceedings until a borrower has missed three monthly payments of principal and interest, according to a Federal Trade Commission attorney. Click here for more...

Street Seeking to Get Handle on B&C Defaults

Wall Street wants to get its arms around rising subprime loan defaults as fast as possible so it can move forward with the least disruption to the markets, according to a loss mitigation firm hired to get a fix on polls of nonperforming mortgages. Click here for more...

CoreLogic Predicts 13% ARM Foreclosure Rate

A study by First American CoreLogic predicts that 1.1 million of the 8.37 million adjustable-rate mortgage loans originated between 2004 and 2006 will end up in foreclosure over a six- to seven-year period. Click here for more...

Citi Buys Fannie LIHTC Portfolio

Citibank NA has purchased from Fannie Mae a portfolio of investments representing approximately $676 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits, according to the two companies. Click here for more...

Fannie Adjusts Series K Dividend Rate

Fannie Mae has announced a dividend rate adjustment for its series K variable-rate noncumulative preferred stock. Click here for more...

Fitch: Subprime Exposure Drops for ABCP

Subprime-related mortgage exposure for U.S. asset-backed commercial paper programs fell sharply in the fourth quarter, though it remained high by historical standards, according to Fitch Ratings. Click here for more...

Fitch Downgrades Morgan Stanley MBS Classes

Twenty-seven classes from 15 Morgan Stanley subprime mortgage-backed securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. Click here for more...

Moody's Downgrades GSAMP MBS Classes

Six certificates from three GSAMP Trust deals issued in 2006 have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service. Click here for more...

MASTR MBS Classes Downgraded

Three tranches from two deals issued by MASTR Second Lien Trust have been downgraded by Moody's Investors Service, and one tranche has been placed under review for possible downgrade. Click here for more...

SACO MBS Class Downgraded; 9 on Review

Class B-3 of SACO I Trust 2004-3 has been downgraded from B3 to Caa2 by Moody's Investors Service, and nine other certificates from various SACO I deals have been placed on review for possible downgrade. Click here for more...

Moody's Eyes New Century MBS Classes

Five certificates from New Century Home Equity Loan Trust series 2006-S1 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. Click here for more...

Terwin MBS Classes on Review

The ratings of five classes from three Terwin Mortgage Trust securitizations have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. Click here for more...

Fremont MBS Classes Under Review

Four certificates from Fremont Home Loan Trust series 2006-B have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. Click here for more...

Ace MBS Classes Under Review

Four certificates from Ace Securities Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. Click here for more...

Moody's Eyes Long Beach MBS Classes

Classes M-7, B-1, and B-2 from Long Beach Mortgage Loan Trust series 2006-A have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. Click here for more...

Merrill MBS Classes Placed on Review

Two subordinated certificates from Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors Trust series 2004-SL1 and 2004-SL2 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service.

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