Tag Archives: Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings published a report Thursday estimating that 29 global systemically important financial institutions may need to raise about $566 billion in common equity in order to satisfy new Basel III capital rules by the end of 2018. The $566 billion figure reflects a 23 percent increase relative to the institutions├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó aggregate common equity of $2.5 trillion. Though the new Basil III rules will not be implemented until 2018, Fitch noted that the global banks will likely face market and supervisory pressure to meet those targets before then.

Fitch Ratings downgraded servicer ratings for Residential Capital LLC on the heels of a bankruptcy filing by the Ally Financial subsidiary. The ratings agency slashed credit ratings for the residential servicer to RMS4, down from RMS3. Earlier Monday Ally Financial announced that Residential Capital, or ResCap, decided to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, selling assets from the estate to Lewisville, Texas-based Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. Nationstar billed the maneuver as one that would make it the nation's largest non-bank residential mortgage lender and one of the largest residential mortgage originators.

Fitch Ratings has released its commentary on the current rends in regional home pricing, noting that significant variability persists among each area surveyed. In its recent report, Fitch also called for the nation's housing recovery to continue at an irregular and anemic pace for the duration of 2012. Citing tighter credit standards and static levels of household income, Fitch's analysis revealed that all regions are experiencing lower prices for new home sales. According to data from Fitch, the West has been hardest hit by flagging home prices.

Mortgage servicers would feel the pain if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalizes new rules it plans to propose this summer, according to Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency said in a statement that increased operational, compliance, and reporting expenses would take place if the rules take effect without any modification by the agency. The CFPB issued statements last week that signal its intentions to roll out with new proposals for rules that require more disclosure and transparency from servicers.