RMBS Losses May be Lower Under Cramdown than Foreclosure – CreditSights takes a look at the impact of proposed changes in how mortgages are treated in bankruptcy might affect residential mortgage backed securities.  … If the law is enacted, these delinquent borrowers could conceivably shift from being default concerns to being cram-down concerns for RMBS investors. – Research Recap

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Household Wealth Falls by Trillions – By VIKAS BAJAJ -  In the last few months, most Americans have felt poorer. Now they have the numbers to prove it.  The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that households lost $5.1 trillion, or 9 percent, of their wealth in the last three months of 2008, the most ever in a single quarter in the 57-year history of recordkeeping by the central bank. – New York Times 

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Pelosi dampens idea of second stimulus – By Jeremy Pelofsky -  U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi poured cold water on the idea of another economic stimulus package on Thursday amid suggestions that some Democrats had already begun work on one. – Reuters
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Who owns gold:  It’s a long way to Italy – Tim Iacono – Well, the suspense is over. It lasted all of one day. Absent any outflows (which have been few and far between in recent months) the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSEArca:GLD) will be looking at Switzerland in the rear view mirror from now on. – themessthatgreenspanmade

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thoughts on one giant super-regulator – See You Later, Regulator – Susan Lee – America awaits… Barney Frank. – Forbes

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Chart of the Day – The initial priority for resolution of the current crisis is the solvency of the banking system. Without a functioning banking system, everything else (i.e. the economy, real estate) falls apart. To that end, today’s chart focuses on the all-important banking sector by providing the current trend of the KBW Bank Index  – (note: Ira Artman referred to this on January 26. – BC )

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1.  FHA To Tighten Standards for Cash-Out Refinancing – Dina ElBoghdady – … especially among borrowers who failed to make more than a single payment. The Washington Post reported Sunday that these instant defaults nearly tripled in the past year alone and more than quadrupled among refinanced loans. … Starting with loan applications that lenders receive April 1, this type of refinancing will be restricted to borrowers with at least 15 percent equity in their homes. … – Washington Post

2.  Private Investors Weigh Fed’s Plan to Spur Credit Markets – By David Cho – … To give hedge funds and other investment firms more time, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York yesterday pushed back the deadline for participating in the program by two days, to Thursday. Officials are counting on these wealthy private investors to borrow money from the government and use it to buy recently issued, highly rated securities that finance much of the nation’s debt, such as auto loans, student loans and credit cards. – Washington Post

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Reverse Mortgages:  Senior Lending Network Moves To LIBOR, Eliminates CMT Based Reverse Mortgages – The Senior Lending Network announced earlier this week that it was moving all of its products to LIBOR starting on Monday, March 16, 2009.  According to the notice sent to brokers, SLN believes the pricing on CMT products will further diminish, therefore making the need for this product insignificant in today’s marketplace.  – Reverse Mortgage Daily 

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Always excellent - What We’re Hearing – By Paul Muolo – the latest on warehouse lending, plus Jim Cramer on warehouse lending – National Mortgage News
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the struggle continues – good summary – Senate Dems squabble over which homeowners to help – By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS – AP Google

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E*Trade Restarts Mortgage Lending – E*Trade Financial is ramping up its mortgage offerings once again, offering new loans through a third-party mortgage outsourcer.   The company’s thrift subsidiary on Friday launched an initiative to offer conventional fixed-rate loans, adjustable-rate mortgages and loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, among others… E*Trade will not be providing riskier types of loans such as home equity lines of credit … PHH of Mount Laurel, N.J. will take care of most aspects of the loan, including the processing, underwriting and servicing … – TheStreet.com