RMBS

An explicit government guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is imperative to reform the secondary market, but needs be carefully circumscribed — covering only the securities and invoked only after multiple, significant layers of private capital have been exhausted.

Former Jefferies & Co. managing director Jesse Litvak was convicted for a second time of defrauding customers on trades of mortgage-backed securities — but only on one of 10 criminal counts.

Nearly a third of the loans in the nonagency space will likely see prepayments cut in half if refinancing incentives disappear due to higher interest rates, according Morningstar Credit Ratings.

Nonprime mortgage securitization has roughly doubled each of the last two years, and it shows no signs of stopping, according to Fitch Ratings.

Despite a jump in mortgage origination activity, Flagstar Bancorp reported lower fourth-quarter profits thanks to an uptick in expenses.

Deutsche Bank sought an unusual provision in its $7.2 billion mortgage-bond settlement with the U.S. government, and seems to have won it: the bank can pay down part of its penalty by lending money to fund managers.

Former Jefferies LLC managing director Jesse Litvak, on trial for defrauding clients on the price of mortgage bonds, is finally getting to present the evidence that he believes will keep him out of prison — testimony from his hand-picked expert witnesses.

Proponents of "recap and release" misread the political risks and the depth of interest that key lawmakers have in determining the long-term future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A recent piece making light of GSE recapitalization is dangerously misleading.

It's unclear how the new political environment will affect the platform's viability or how investors will view the securities issued on it. The next year could determine the project's success and role reshaping the secondary mortgage market.