Capital markets

Blackstone portfolio company Incenter has agreed to purchase Interactive Mortgage Advisers.

The Federal Home Loan Bank system is not a private country club and shouldn't be operating as one. Captive insurance companies represent new potential to expand homeownership opportunities for credit-worthy borrowers.

Strong demand for rentals will keep pace with new construction over the next few years, the government-sponsored enterprise says.

Redwood Trust said it will stop originating commercial mortgages for securitization and focus solely on investing in bonds backed by commercial mortgages originated by others.

Fitch Ratings is warning about the mezzanine tranches of commercial mortgage securitization by Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, though it is still rating the notes.

Many institutional investors are refusing to purchase mortgages loans until they get assurance from the CFPB that they won't have to pay for others' mistakes. Their pullback could further the slow the issuance of private-label mortgage bonds this year, a huge concern at a time when the majority of home loans are insured by Fannie, Freddie and the FHA.

Ted Tozer, president of the Government National Mortgage Agency wants more hands to monitor the growing number of nonbank MBS issuers.

The market for U.S. government mortgage-backed securities remains deeply liquid despite signs that trading conditions have weakened, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The price of the loans underlying commercial mortgage-backed securities declined 210 basis points during 2015, amid a broad rise in interest rates, according to DebtX.

PennyMac Mortgage Financial Services reported a rise in income on higher servicing revenue.

Station Place Securitization Trust 2016-1 plans to issue a $225 million mortgage securitization that will be the first backed by a revolving warehouse lending facility since 2009, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Mortgage REIT says five-year transition plan won't have an impact on its financing model.

Computershare has agreed to acquire Capital Markets Cooperative for $71.2 million.

Freddie Mac has taken out another reinsurance policy that transfers risk of default on mortgages it insures.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unveiled an appeals process Tuesday that will allow an independent arbitrator to resolve disputes between lenders and the government-sponsored enterprises over loan repurchase demands.

Lenders argue that the GSEs would be better off buying more loans that are already insured, rather than transferring credit risk after holding them for a time. But Freddie Mac's Kevin Palmer says certainty of reimbursement is more important than the timing of risk transfers.

Clayton Holdings has been selected by Angel Oak Capital Advisors to be the representation-and-warranty reviewer for a $150.4 million private-label securitization of nonprime loans.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's Duty-to-Serve rule must include a substantive commitment from the government-sponsored enterprises to purchase chattel loans.

United Guaranty's spinoff from American International Group will result in changes to its capital structure that could shake up the competitive landscape in the private mortgage insurance market.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is reducing the mortgage insurance premiums it charges on Federal Housing Administration multifamily loans to encourage the renovation of affordable housing units and promote energy-efficient upgrades.