Finance

Making low-balance loans with poor economies of scale is tough in a market with slim margins, but it could have its rewards.

The deal is backed by an underlying pool of 1,724 fixed-rate mortgages originated by Blackstone-owned Finance of America Mortgage.

The publicly traded real estate investment firm is backing the securitization via Citi with 156 properties in 28 states.

Because automated valuation models have not been subjected to a stressed housing market, their increased use holds negatives and positives for residential mortgage-backed securities credit quality, a Moody's report said.

Blackstone's real estate affiliate and property management firm SITE Centers Corp. acquired the 12 centers across seven states in 2014.

The loan covering single-tenant distribution/fulfillment centers is the largest obligation in the transaction being rated by four agencies.

Freddie Mac fulfilled its promise to offer a single mortgage that finances the home purchase price and improvements completed after closing.

The mortgage agency has hired Eric Blankenstein, who sparked controversy while at the consumer bureau over past revelations of racially charged writings.

As officials prepare plans for the government-sponsored enterprises' exit from conservatorship, there's no shortage of speculation about what those plans might look like and how they might affect the mortgage industry.

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters and Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top GOP panel member, said Facebook must testify about Project Libra.

Alternative investment manager Pretium plans to buy Deephaven, a residential mortgage-backed securities issuer that operates outside the qualified mortgage market, from Varde Partners.

S&P says investors are asking more questions about how rising levels of self-storage property collateral is affecting conduit CMBS transactions.

Housing finance agencies reported increased demand for their loan products, but at the same time the inventory shortage constrains activity and drives them to work with other public entities to find solutions, Moody's said.

Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. will collect bids Tuesday on behalf of a seller for a more than $1 billion mortgage servicing rights package that includes securitized loans with alternative remittance cycles.

Nearly $300 million of municipal debt sold 12 years ago to expand Central New York's Destiny USA shopping mall were dropped to junk-level Ba2 by Moody's Investors Service.

Cerberus affiliate FirstKey Mortgage will pool outstanding first- and second-lien loans totaling $277.7 million drawn from 1,732 seasoned and performing HELOCs.

OBX 2019-INV2 is a private-label RMBS pool of 1,087 of agency-eligible investor-property loans.

Director Mark Calabria urged lawmakers to grant the agency chartering authority similar to that of bank regulators to boost competition in the mortgage market.

Prepayment speeds for loans included in agency mortgage-backed securities were up approximately 20% both monthly and annually during May as the decline in interest rates boosted activity, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Ginnie Mae is examining whether the shift in business to nonbank issuers has implications beyond the risks it has historically looked at, and identifying advantages that should be nurtured as well.