Secondary markets

Predicting exactly what the world will look like 11 years after the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law is a stretch, but history shows that congressional updates to the regulatory structure are cyclical and occur roughly once a decade.

Executives from equity real estate investment trust American Realty Capital Properties rang the closing bell at the National Association of Securities Dealer Automated Quotation system’s headquarters, signaling the closing of the trading day on March 1, 2013.

The GSE regulator has tasked Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with building a new securitization platform that could one day serve as a public utility for the issuance of MBS.

MFA Financial, a real estate investment trust, will delay its 2012 annual report filing.

Last year Union First completed two separate share repurchases, retiring 970,000 shares, or about 3.5% of the total outstanding.

New Penn Financial has lowered pricing and expanded guidelines on a jumbo portfolio product offered through both third-party and direct-loan channels.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and Los Alamos National Bank have awarded an Affordable Housing Program grant to YES Housing Inc.

Mortgage-backed securities in Russian rubles hit a new high in issuance last year.

Risk-retention rules were designed to encourage more responsible underwriting and to better align the interests of securitization sponsors and investors.

The American Securitization Forum fell into turmoil last week when most of the board resigned in a dispute with the group’s executive director over governance and bonuses.

Home prices across Canada are overvalued by approximately 20% in real terms on an estimated basis.

American Realty Capital Properties celebrated its status as the largest equity real estate investment trust on the stock exchange at the event.

Some of the most talked-about securitizations did not make it to market during the month of February.

Citigroup plans to issue a $240 million of commercial mortgage-backed securities backed by a single shopping mall.

Fannie Mae reported a 23% jump in loan purchases in January, compared to the prior month.

Standard & Poor's has raised its investment grade ratings on three classes of commercial mortgage-backed securities from Banc of America Large Loan Inc.'s series 2009-FDG.

Covered bonds from north of the border are changing, and could be making a comeback here.

PacTrust recent hires include industry veterans Rick Cassano and Zoila Price in a effort to grow its mortgage business.

A report from Fitch Ratings on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said the ongoing U.S. fiscal policy debate is not expected to have a direct impact on the two government-sponsored enterprises.

The Senate Banking Committee examined the Federal Housing Administration's fiscal problems on Thursday, with lawmakers still divided on the best approach to take for reforming the troubled agency.