Ocwen Financial's agreement to write down $2 billion in principal of the mortgage it services should not impact Fitch Ratings’ assessment of any of the bonds backed by these mortgages

Investors participating in a roundtable organized by Standard & Poor's remain keen on buying CLOs - especially in the primary market - but they are also wary of emerging risks linked to more leverage and covenant-lite loans in the pools.

Banks could end up holding more home loans on their balance sheets next year instead of selling them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the result of fee increases that are designed to increase the role of private capital in the mortgage market.

American International Group has issued $400 million of catastrophe bonds through its Tradewynd Re program.

The European Banking Authority will allow RMBS to be counted in the Liquidity Coverage Ratio as "high quality liquid assets".

Barclays expects securitization of small business loans, leases on telecommunication towers, shipping containers, and other kinds of esoteric assets to increase next year, helped by a gradual improvement in the economy and investors continued appetite for higher-yielding assets.

Moody’s Investors Service default rate index of non-federally guaranteed student loans dropped to 3.4% and will continue to fall year over year into 2014.

Canada’s structured finance and covered bonds markets are poised for additional growth in 2014, according to Fitch Ratings.

The firm said it has hired Juergen Haferkorn as a managing director in London. He will focus on asset-backed securities and expanding Cantor's outreach to German-speaking countries.

The ratings agency said in a report today that based on 2012 mortgage lending figures, had the FHFA implemented then the roughly 4% cut its proposes today, it would have shifted just 1% of borrowers to the private jumbo market.

Although Ocwen Financial agreed to pay more than $2 billion to settle allegations it mishandled foreclosures and mortgages for thousands of borrowers, it could have been even worse for the country's largest nonbank servicer.

They would be funded separately from its current auto loan portfolio and would not be included in the company’s current public securitization program.