Secondary

Fitch Ratings in a recent report said it believes the Federal Housing Finance Agency's recent strategic plan for the government sponsored enterprises, which includes improved loan level reporting on securitizations, has positive potential for both agency and private label residential mortgage-backed securities.

"Out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile...And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows." - Genesis 41

JP Morgan Chase & Co. told a federal court in Wichita, Kan., that it should reject NCUA's claims regarding $1.4 billion of mortgage-backed securities sold to four failed corporate credit unions and dismiss the suit without even allowing for discovery.

We keep hearing the same chorus week after week from politicians and regulators: we want private capital to return to the mortgage business. In a nutshell, they want private investors to play the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - that of buying and guaranteeing loans.

Fannie Mae continued its money losing ways in the fourth quarter, posting a net loss of $2.4 billion for the period and $16.9 billion for the year. In 2010 it lost $14 billion.

Fannie Mae, in a new SEC filing, says that in late January it cut off Bank of America from selling most types of loans to the GSE because of "delays" by the lender in making good on outstanding buyback requests.

Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco continued to play defense Tuesday as senators grilled him over his unwillingness to let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac forgive struggling homeowners' debt.

Because of the housing market meltdown, foreign governments and banks are shying away from bonds backed by American home loans. But individual foreign buyers are taking advantage of the crash to snap up U.S. bargains at a record clip.

SunTrust Banks Inc., which has already lost hundreds of millions after repurchasing bad mortgages, could lose up to $150 million as it deals with the cost of mortgage-servicing problems.

Boston-based Highfields Capital Management, which owns a 7.7% stake in CoreLogic, accused CoreLogic's board of directors' "desire to maintain control rather than doing what is in the best interest of shareholders."