Secondary markets

Curt Culver has got a lot to keep him busy after he steps down as Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s CEO, including serving on the board of his family's eponymous restaurant chain.

A former Jefferies & Co. managing director convicted of fraud for lying to customers about the price of mortgage-backed securities sued the AllianceBernstein Holding LP executive who reported him.

Seer Capital Management is getting more bullish on U.S. commercial real estate. The $2.1 billion hedge fund firm, started by ex-Deutsche Bank AG executive Phillip Weingord, is planning a fund dedicated solely to buying the riskiest pieces of bonds backed by commercial properties, according to a presentation, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

Yields on government-backed mortgage securities narrowed to the least relative to benchmark debt in more than two years, cushioning the blow of a slump in Treasuries for homebuyers.

The expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Assistance program on Dec. 31 will have "repercussions" for the economy, according to Fitch Ratings.

Commercial and residential secondary-market platforms are under pressure to shift from loss-leader strategies to profitability as they enter their second year in a sector that's now more established and competitive.

JPMorgan Securities is arranging a $353 million RMBS securitizing 677 prime pre-crisis mortgages originated by Merrill Lynch Credit Corp.

Former Countrywide Financial Corp. executive Edward O'Donnell will get $57 million for his part in bringing a whistle-blower lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. which helped the U.S. force the lender to pay almost $16.7 billion to settle mortgage fraud charges.

Despite looser credit consumer demand has been on the decline, according to Fannie Mae's fourth-quarter Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey.

Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said he's added "meaningfully" to his bets on U.S. mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past two weeks.

The Russian ruble is in freefall — it's down more than 50% since January — and interest rates are climbing on the back of the Bank of Russia's aggressive efforts to shore up the embattled currency.

More than two dozen Senate lawmakers signed a letter this week that urges the Federal Housing Finance Agency to drop its proposal to tighten Federal Home Loan Bank membership rules.

The deal resolved claims relating to the underwriting and servicing of loans in more than 300 residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts.

A new report suggests that the credit quality of residential mortgage-backed securities will continue to improve in 2015.

Nicholas Schorsch, American Realty Capital Properties Inc.'s former executive chairman, is walking away from a compensation package valued at about $100 million, company filings show.

If the Securities and Exchange Commission bans Standard & Poor's from rating commercial mortgage-backed securities, as it is reportedly planning to, bonds backed by a single, large asset would be hit disproportionately, according to JPMorgan.

Marketplace lender Social Finance may pursue a larger initial public offering than expected, CEO Mike Cagney said. Progress in its mortgage business and a new lending app will be pivotal to the company's future, he said.

The third and final part of this series tells how to establish a business model acceptable to the CFPB.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. has given its president and chief executive, Timothy Buzby, a two-year extension on his employment contract.

HUD officials had taken a neutral position on whether FHA financing would be available for loans that were seized by cities and written down to their current appraised value.