Private-label

The cost of capital and regulatory compliance has convinced the top four banks that making home loans to American families is not worth the risk.

Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $3.2 billion to end a joint federal-state investigation into its handling of mortgage-backed securities, the fourth deal to be struck in a probe of the big U.S. banks' role in the subprime mortgage meltdown and the financial crisis it spawned.

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.

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.

WinWater Home Mortgage's first prime jumbo securitization of the year is backed by a mix of 15-year and 30-year loans, according to DBRS.

JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay almost $1 billion to resolve claims by Ambac Financial that it was duped into insuring mortgage bonds backed by shoddy loans, clearing the way for approval of a larger settlement over similar allegations.

Home Partners of America is securitizing a portfolio of single family rental homes with a unique feature: the tenants lease-to-own.

Barclays Plc is exiting residential mortgage and commercial mortgage backed securities trading and asset-backed derivative in the U.S., according to a memo seen by Bloomberg. Operations will be focused on origination-led ABS and primary CMBS.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income dropped 65% because of the costs to settle a mortgage probe.

Goldman Sachs said it agreed to settle a U.S. probe into its handling of mortgage-backed securities for about $5.1 billion, cutting its fourth-quarter profit by about $1.5 billion.

Private-label investors in residential mortgage-backed securities should be at only modest risk for noncompliance with TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure requirements, according to Fitch Ratings.

Amherst Holdings plans to market $400 million worth of bonds backed by single-family rental homes, according to Trepp.

CrediFi, a New York-based provider of commercial property data, is launching CMBS Suite, which it said is an information resource for lenders looking to refinance securitized commercial mortgages.

Forget bigger is better. Several private-equity-backed lenders are making loans to small landlords, who represent the biggest chunk of the home-rental market and get less help from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than they once did.

Two Harbors is marketing its first residential mortgage securitization of the year, according to Fitch Ratings.

The plunge in oil prices may jeopardize almost $125 million of securitized loans backed by real estate in North Dakota, as drillers in the state scale back operations, Morningstar Credit Ratings said.

RAIT Financial Trust said it closed on its fifth commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation.

The price of the loans underlying commercial mortgage-backed securities increased modestly from October to November, according to DebtX.

Vestin Realty Mortgage I Inc. in Las Vegas said it will seek to remove its common stock from trading on Nasdaq.

American Mortgage Consultants has bought JCIII & Associates, in a combination of providers of mortgage due diligence and consulting.