Fitch Ratings on Wednesday warned that it may downgrade the ratings of 205 RMBS classes wrapped by four different guarantors, underscoring the stress now facing the secondary markets surrounding mortgage-backed securities. All RMBS deals backed by a financial guaranty from any of MBIA, Ambac, FGIC and XL Capital were put on negative watch by the [...]

Two smaller, regional banking outfits warned Wednesday of writedowns due to the effects of the ongoing credit crunch, illustrating the far-reaching effects the mortgage mess is now having outside of the nation’s large lenders and financial institutions. Spokane, Wash.-based Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:STSA) said that it expects to report approximately $13.0 million in loan loss provisions [...]

(December 26, 2007) — Webster Bank said it has been selected by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) to be a lender in a new mortgage refinancing assistance program to help low- and moderate-income borrowers facing payment resets.

A leading measure of U.S. home prices recorded broad-based declines during September, marking the 10th consecutive month of negative annual returns and the 23rd consecutive month of decelerating returns. According to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, released Wednesday, home prices declined at a faster pace in October than in September — with the 10-city [...]

As the holiday season is here in full swing, I want to take a quick minute to wish each reader a very joyous season; I know it’s been a tough year for some, a record year for others — whichever camp you’re in, I hope you can find time to spend with friends and family. [...]

Keeping up with the downgrades on various subprime RMBS deals here at HW is turning into a full time job. (And one that requires plenty of coffee.) Here’s a list of the downgrades issued tonight by Fitch alone — remember, these are the downgrades issued just in one night at one rating agency. Total downgraded [...]

Fannie Mae saw its mortgage portfolio decline at an annualized 15.6 percent rate during November to $722 billion — its smallest in six months — the GSE said Friday in a statement. The portfolio decrease was offset at least in part by the highest level of Fannie-backed MBS issuances this year, at $62.5 billion in [...]

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. said Friday that it will suspend its fourth quarter dividend as it doubles its share repurchase program to 100 million shares, in an effort to boost its flagging stock price. From the press statement: … the Board continues to believe that FBR’s stock price does not accurately reflect the underlying value of [...]

If you want to make money from the subprime mess, it appears that it would pay to be a class-action attorney. Litigation tied to the demise of subprime lending is driving an increase in class-action filings, according to a report released Friday by NERA Economic Consulting. 198 class-action cases have been filed in total through [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an investigation into appraisal practices at Washington Mutual, according to a report Friday in the Wall Street Journal. Citing unnamed sources, the Journal says the probe is in its infancy but will include “whether WaMu accurately disclosed to investors of mortgage-backed securities how its loans were appraised as [...]