A federal judge in New York has thrown out a lawsuit against Standard & Poor's and Moody's brought by investors who claim the ratings agencies defrauded them on nearly $100 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued by the now defunct Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. back in 2007.
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The congressionally appointed committee charged with overseeing the government's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) headed to Atlanta to hold a hearing on problems in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector. Specifically panel members are hoping to get a better grasp on how CRE woes will affect the banking system and the role of TARP in addressing that impact, hoping to stave off another real estate-induced financial meltdown.
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The Catylist commercial information exchange (CIE) service was recently adopted for the commercial members of My Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS), a consortium of 13 Realtor boards and Florida's largest multiple listing service (MLS) with approximately 30,000 subscribers.
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On Friday, Encore Equities, LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Encore Enterprises, Inc, named Scot Clevenger as the company's VP of capital markets.
In his new position, Clevenger will cultivate investor and partner relationships and identify projects that meet the company's investment criteria.
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Fannie Mae says it will cover the closing costs on purchases of its REO homes - an incentive the GSE hopes will help it pare down a bloated supply of repossessed properties.
From now until May 1, people purchasing a home through HomePath, Fannie Mae's REO disposition operation, will receive up to 3.5 percent of the final sales price, which can be applied toward closing costs or used to purchase appliances for their new home.
At the end of September, Fannie Mae had 72,275 REO properties on its books, marking a 7 percent increase year-over-year.
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Loan Resolution Corporation (LRC), a pre-foreclosure asset manager based in Scottsdale, Arizona, recently announced that it has successfully completed its Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) Type II certification, the widely recognized auditing standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
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In an announcement Thursday, Allonhill, a Denver-based third-party review firm specializing in mortgage due diligence and credit risk management, said it has formally released a complete securitization solution for issuer and underwriters of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).
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Investment funds capitalized by private equity firms and the U.S. Treasury have bought $3.4 billion in so-called toxic mortgage bonds under the administration's Legacy Securities Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP).
A report released by the Treasury Friday details the first concrete progress made under the program since it was announced nearly a year ago. Eighty-seven percent of the PPIP portfolio holdings are private residential mortgage-backed securities. Thirteen percent are backed by commercial real estate assets.
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According to a recent report by DebtX, a full-service loan sale advisor based in Boston, the aggregate value of DebtX-priced commercial real estate (CRE) loans that collateralized commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) dropped to 75.9 percent as of December 31, 2009, falling 1.8 percent from November 30, 2009.
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According to Freddie Mac’s quarterly Refinance Report, 33 percent of borrowers who refinanced their loan in the fourth quarter of 2009 lowered their principal balance.
This was the highest cash-in share recorded since the GSE began tracking the characteristics of refinance transactions in 1985.
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The First American Corporation said Thursday that, in preparation for the separation of its Financial Services and Information Solutions businesses into two separate publicly traded companies, the firm has named Craig J. Barberio director of investor relations for the Financial Services group and David Bigelow VP of investor relations for the Information Solutions group. The company has also promoted Mark E. Seaton to the position of VP of finance for First American's Financial Services group
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Freddie Mac and 13 national and local nonprofit organizations have launched a pilot effort aimed at convincing discouraged delinquent borrowers to pursue mortgage workouts to save their homes from foreclosure. Freddie Mac has set up new Borrower Help Centers in Chicago, Phoenix, San Bernardino, and Washington, D.C. to provide mortgage counseling to delinquent Freddie Mac borrowers. The company is also launching a separate national phone campaign to reach distressed borrowers across the nation.
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Raymond A. Redlingshafer was recently named senior managing director of Clayton Holdings, LLC, a provider of customized risk analysis, loss mitigation, operational solutions, and staffing services to the mortgage industry, according to an announcement Thursday by the Shelton, Connecticut-based company.
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Pro Teck Valuation Services, a real estate valuation and risk solutions provider based in Waltham, Massachusetts, announced its endorsement of the Title/Appraisal Vendor Management Association's (TAVMA) Standards of Good Practice in Appraisal Management.
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Marking the first year-over-year increase since 2004, single-family home sales in Rhode Island jumped nearly 12 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, according to The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data in New England.
With a total of 7,669 single-family home transactions recorded in 2009, sales were up 11.9 percent from 2008.
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Veros Real Estate Solutions, a Santa Ana, California-based provider of enterprise risk management and collateral valuation services, announced Thursday that the company has adopted the American Securitization Forum (ASF) Loan Identification Number Code (ASF LINC).
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The Senate has chosen the nation's foremost central banker for the next four years, and he's a familiar face already. In a 70 to 30 vote Thursday afternoon, senators confirmed Ben S. Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. Many lawmakers have criticized the Fed chief for failing to nip the financial crisis in the bud, but fellow economists have credited him with pulling the U.S. economy back from the brink of collapse and preventing a sequel of the Great Depression.
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Despite negative reports regarding commercial real estate, this down market may be a window of opportunity for investors. According to the CCIM Institute and the Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC), commercial real estate is positioning itself to be an attractive investment on a risk-adjusted basis in 2010 and 2011. Property prices in the retail and apartment sectors, in particular, showed moderate increases in the fourth quarter of 2009, breaking the string of significant price declines during the previous 12 months.
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Marking the fourth consecutive week of declines, mortgage rates inched down once again this week, both Freddie Mac and Bankrate reported Thursday.
According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, rates for 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 4.98 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending January 28, 2010, down 0.01 percent from last week. Compared to the same week last year, rates are down 0.12 percent.
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Treasury said Thursday that it will begin requiring servicers to obtain all required documentation upfront, prior to evaluating a borrower for a trial plan under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) - an about-face from the current process where trial mods can be initiated based on stated, not verified, income.
Treasury officials also fielded speculation that they might make principal reduction a more central component of the program. They currently have no plans to address negative equity under HAMP, but called it a "serious policy concern."
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