Secondary markets

Fannie Mae purchased $62 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers in February, its weakest monthly acquisition volume in four months.

Mortgage loan options available have significantly shrunk during the past few years of the crisis to the point that makes some worry creativity is almost impossible, or simply dead. A closer look at borrower preferences and market data indicate product variations may not necessarily be a dare banks need to stay away from.

If you're looking for the next megabank to exit the mortgage sector the most likely candidate would be Ally Financial, the government owned bank holding company that controls No. 5 ranked servicer GMAC Mortgage/Residential Capital Corp.

A Fitch Ratings pre-sale report is out on the first commercial mortgage-backed security backed by non- and sub-performing assets to come to market in over a decade.

A federal judge rejected an attempt by the Securities and Exchange Commission to compel Wells Fargo & Co. to comply with an administrative subpoena, ordering the agency and the bank to meet to resolve their dispute over documents related to the agency's investigation of nearly $60 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities.

A pilot program can be devised to show principal reduction is a cost-effective way to keep underwater Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers in their homes and prevent strategic defaults, according to a new report by a research group.

For the past three months, the nation's largest residential servicers have had a lock on refinancing high LTV and underwater loans in their GSE portfolios. In a nutshell the megabanks could manually underwrite loans they controlled under Dec. 1 revisions made to the Home Affordable Refinancing Program.

Banc of Manhattan Capital, Woodland Hills, Calif., is taking bids on a $26 million pool of re-performing whole loans, servicing released.

The aggregate value of loans collateralized by commercial MBS increased 50 basis points in February from the month prior, continuing an upward trend, said DebtX, a Boston-based loan sales advisor.

Although Wells Fargo & Co. won't talk about its 'exclusionary' list of third-party lenders, correspondent loan buyers doing business with some of the firms say they wound up on the list mostly because of buyback disputes with the megabank.

Builder Meritage Homes Corp. has priced $300 million in senior unsecured notes due 2022 to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A.

The headline of today's daily 'What We're Hearing' blast sounds like junk mail that you might see in your email inbox. But rest assured, certain mortgage REITs are paying hefty dividends these days. At the top of the list is Annaly Capital Management, which has a 13.5% dividend/yield rate.

Community banks and thrifts are slowly increasing their originations of non-conforming mortgages, while pulling back on making FHA loans, according to a new study from the American Bankers Association.

Two sales associates for eWarehouseOne have resigned over the past few weeks, including industry veteran Henry Brandt.

Freddie Mac purchased $37.6 billion of residential loans from its seller/servicers in February, a 10% increase from the prior month, and a sign perhaps that Bank of America's recent decision to quit Fannie Mae is helping Freddie.

The CMBS market paralleled broader markets last week with buyers preparing for quarter end. The spreads were roughly unchanged week-over-week as trading volume slowed, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts.

Moody's Investors Service is warning that it may downgrade Assured Guaranty Corp., Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp., and all affiliated insurance operating companies, an action that might make it difficult for the bond insurer to attract new business.

Bankrupt bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. had a net loss of $963 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the senior and mezzanine structured-finance ratings on a 1999 series of single-family mortgage bonds issued by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association to A1 from Aaa and Aa2. The outlook is negative.

The loss of revenue from the naming rights of the Kodak Theatre is negatively impacting the commercial mortgage-backed security that includes a mortgage for the renamed Hollywood and Highland Center, according to a report last week by analysts at Deutsche Bank Securities.