For 2008, loan volumes plunge 44% while bonds lose 27% – David Oakley – Loan and bond volumes dropped in 2008 to lows last seen at the height of the dot-com bust in 2000. Dealogic figures show that syndicated loan volumes dropped 44%, while bond volumes slid 29%. During the past year, U.S. banks went through significant changes, including bankruptcy, rescues and mergers. The year also included establishment of government-guaranteed bank debt, an asset class that has had significant effect on markets. – Financial Times
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Andrew Davidson & Co. – The Pipeline – good article about the rally and coupon compression – Securitization.net

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Home prices may rise on mortgage refinancing boom – Veteran banking analyst Richard Bove said he expects housing prices in the United States to stabilize and/or rise after a likely boom in mortgage refinance, as mortgage rates fall and loan applications increase. – Reuters
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For FHASecure, a Quiet End Nears – By PAUL JACKSON – housingwire

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A Case for Higher Interest Rates & Lower Home Prices – With the continual prodding by many to initiate 4.5% mortgage rates to pacify the current housing market glut, it’s important to distinguish the effects based on two categories of buyers:
1. Existing mortgage refinancing
2. Home Purchase Mortgages
Fundamentally, the problem with this policy is that it is likely to have a minimal effect on latter category. – StrucTURa: An Elemental Approach to Finance & Strategy 

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Take heart; no one else knows what’s next, either – JONAH GOLDBERG – Kansas City Star 

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For Regionals, Cleanup Is Top Priority – American Banker – By Paul Davis and Kevin Dobbs -   BankInvestmentConsultant.com

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Research Recap – Bailout Primer – Looking for some light reading while sitting by the yule log? The Capital Markets and Securities practice at Paul Weiss has just published a primer for the bailouts, a Reference Guide to the U.S. Rescue Efforts.  The 50+ page report has been updated to include events of the past week and is available for free download.  Research Recap – Bailout Primer

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Chart of the Day – For some perspective into the all-important US real estate market, today’s chart illustrates the US median price of a single-family home over the past 38 years.

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Susan Kulakowski forsees the future in 2005 – this archive is found at housingbubble blog:  Low-payment loans could turn out to be scary 
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Agency Copes With a Mortgage-Insurance Overflow – NICK TIMIRAOS and JAMES R. HAGERTY – Federal Housing Administration Receives a Mountain of Paperwork Daily That Employees Check, Relying on Old Systems – Wall Street Journal

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A Far-East Fiasco? – Posted by Prieur du Plessis -  This post is a guest contribution by Vitaliy N. Katsenelson, author of Active Value Investing: Making Money in Range-Bound Markets and director of research at Investment Management Associates. – Investment Postcards from Capetown     (think about this … with UST rates at record lows, this would be a great time for China start selling them – BC)