Securitization

Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) was ordered to face a lawsuit by New York's attorney general accusing the bank of fraud in sales of mortgage-backed securities before the recession.

Federal regulators formally issued a final risk retention rule for mortgage securitizations, a long-awaited and hotly debated measure that is nevertheless expected to have little market impact when it takes effect a year from now.

Farmland Partners has expanded its secured note line of credit with Farmer Mac to $150 million, from $75 million.

NCUA has filed suit against another big banking company over mortgage-backed securities.

As the real estate market ramps back up, lenders are looking for ways to diversify their portfolios, even if the returns are slim.

Market participants are encouraged by the FHFA's move to ease repurchase requirements — which will likely result in a continued domination of the market by government agencies.

Remember when nobody wanted to touch U.S. subprime-mortgage debt? That's just a distant memory as they deliver some of the bond market's best returns.

The Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus have agreed to acquire the global credit ratings agency DBRS.

Trustees for mortgage bond investors asked a New York court to approve a $1.13 billion settlement reached in April with Citigroup Inc. as the bank seeks to resolve liabilities for loans it packaged and sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

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.

Fannie Mae veteran Karen Pallotta has joined Redwood Trust's board of directors. Pallotta's recent role at Fannie was as executive vice president of the single-family credit guaranty business, which she assumed during the height of the financial crisis.

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.

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

Bank of America Corp. and US Bancorp were sued by the agency that oversees federal credit unions, which claimed the banks failed as trustees over securities backed by home mortgages that defaulted after the 2008 credit crisis.

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.

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.