The financial crisis has raised concerns about the ability of market rules and regulations to ensure truthful disclosure of asset quality. There is good reason to worry.
In a recent paper (available here), we found that at least 10% of the private-label residential mortgage-backed securities sold before the crisis were misrepresented by the bankers who had packaged and sold them.
We also...
The markets for nonagency mortgage bonds is booming.
But how much money do well-placed investors stand to get?
For those who stood by subprime bonds patiently for the last few years, they stand to make a killing.
Thomas Zimmerman of UBS Investment Bank said during a conference at the American Enterprise Institute his nonagency portfolio of subprime, alt-A and options ARMs from the 2006-2008 vintages are doing very well. "Six months ago some of these securities traded at...
For REO agents, a diverse business model is crucial in order to see a strong income stream, according to Bubba Mills, chief operating officer for Corcoran Consulting & Coaching. But what creates a diverse model?
The COO spoke to a full house at the REOMAC 2013 Summit & Expo on Tuesday, focusing specifically on REO agents who have seen a decrease in business since 2012.
Mills noted the importance of open houses, which he adds will inevitably bring leads...
For the most part, the implementation of Basel III is a done deal. Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and the EU’s financial services chief, Michel Barnier, reaffirmed their commitment to the international capital requirements for systemically important financial institutions.
Final implementation is years away, and by that time the Basel committee...
Former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, joined Promontory Financial Group as a managing director and chairman of its governance and markets practice this week.
The transition makes Schapiro the latest former high-profile regulator to find a home in the private sector.
While Schapiro's move is not all that unusual for a former regulatory insider, it comes at a time when there is a general wariness...
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and fellow AG Eric Schneiderman out of New York bashed FHFA leader Ed DeMarco in a Politico article Tuesday. The gist of their opinion piece is they want DeMarco to get the boot.
The two AGs said they don’t have anything personally against the acting director of the FHFA, but...
In the past few years, investment bankers have heard very little good news about their ulcer-inducing, high-stakes industry.
But all the bad news is not slowing down a new breed of ambitious young women, who reportedly are looking for careers in investment banking … at least in European nations.
Sarah Butcher with eFinancialCareers has an ...
It seems the transition is complete. In a recent survey by Redfin, 82% of agents described now as a "good time to sell," while only 57% described now as "a good time to buy."
Let’s back up to the third quarter of 2012, when 54% of the agents polled considered it a good time to sell, but 75% called it a good time to buy.
This complete ‘180’ in the housing markets can only be backed by...
If you’ve been following HousingWire REwired over the course of the past few weeks, you may be familiar with the growing debate between James Carr with the Center for American Progress and Peter Wallison with the American Enterprise Institute.
If you missed it, here’s a recap: Wallison suggested to Congress that...
With so many rules, it must be hard for regulators and financial firms to keep things straight, which is why a good compliance person is becoming worth every penny spent on their salaries and the boxes of coffee that must be acquired to keep them awake during the day.
My favorite take on the subject comes this week from the Rob Chrisman report. Everyone knows compliance is a hot topic right now, and if you can help mortgage servicers and lenders comply with all the new rules, you're...
