ABS

  • Euro secondary patchy

    Activity in the European securitisation secondary market remains very patchy.

    Despite a positive end to last week that saw spreads tick in and a continuing strong tone in to this, ABS/MBS continues to see highly selective trading. While there is little BWIC activity, what flows there are have so far this week been focused on prime assets.

    Similarly, tone remain .......

    SCIWire 24 May 2016

  • Insurance risk specialist hired

    Miller has recruited Benjamin Gibbons in a business production and senior broking role, where he will develop its credit and political risks offering. Gibbons specialises in structuring credit risk insurance policies for banks in line with Basel 3 capital adequacy standards.

    He was previously leader of a financial institutions team within the political risks and structured credit practice at Marsh. .......

    Job Swaps 23 May 2016

  • Pandemic ILS prepped

    The World Bank Group has launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF), a global financing mechanism using ILS that is designed to protect against pandemics. It is hoped that the initiative will create the first-ever insurance market for pandemic risk.

    The new facility aims to accelerate both global and national responses to future outbreaks with pandemic potential. It was built .......

    News Round-up 23 May 2016

  • Transparency drive

    Robert Vincini, head of pricing service specialists at Thomson Reuters, answers SCI's questions

    Q: How and when did your firm become involved in the pricing and valuations business? How has your service evolved in recent years?
    A:     We started in 1991 as EJV Partners (Electronic Joint Venture). Reuters purchased certain assets of Bridge - including bond pricing and reference data - in 2001, forming Reuters Pricing Service. After the merger of Thomson Corporation and Reuters .......

    Provider Profile 23 May 2016

  • MBIA-wrapped bonds downgraded

    Moody's has downgraded 162 classes of structured finance securities wrapped by MBIA Insurance Corporation. The action follows the downgrade of the insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings of MBIA Insurance Corporation to Caa1 from B3, with a negative outlook.

    The downgrade of MBIA Corp's IFS rating reflects the insurer's weak liquidity and capital position, and increasing risk of default on insurance .......

    News Round-up 23 May 2016

  • Solvency 2 to boost ILS?

    The size of the collateralised protection market is expected to increase from US$70bn to US$160bn by 2020, according to a new Clear Path Analysis report. Its latest Insurance-Linked Securities for Institutional Investors report predicts that new solvency regulation in Europe will increase insurer appetite for insurance-linked securities and collateralised reinsurance, so as to minimise credit risk charges.

    Capital markets now .......

    News Round-up 20 May 2016

  • ILS methodology RFC issued

    AM Best has issued a request for comment on its draft Best's Insurance-Linked Securities and Structures Methodology (BILSM). Comments are requested no later than 16 June as the new methodology is expected to be implemented in 3Q16.

    The BILSM provides an outline and summarisation of the methodology AM Best uses to rate ILS. It offers a forum for discussion with .......

    News Round-up 20 May 2016

  • BNP cut-back planned

    BNP Paribas is set to cut half of its 35-person London securitisation team under plans to implement broader cut-backs to its investment banking operations. The cuts will reportedly see 233 investment bank jobs in total given the axe. However, a number of the roles in the securitisation department are expected to be redeployed into other areas of the bank.

    .......

    Job Swaps 20 May 2016

  • Groundbreaking SLABS hits

    SoFi's second ABS of the year has hit the market, making it the ninth rated term ABS the online lender has completed. Dubbed SoFi Professional Loan Program 2016-B, the US$379.7m marketplace transaction is backed by refinanced student loans and incorporates a number of new features.

    Provisionally rated by DBRS and Moody's, the ABS comprises US$101.38m AAA/Aaa rated class A1 notes, .......

    News 19 May 2016

  • Euro secondary strong but slow

    Sentiment remains strong across the bulk of the European securitisation secondary market but away from CLOs activity remains very slow.

    ABS/MBS secondary continues to be hampered by lack of supply as BWICs have remained thin on the ground this week. Meanwhile, flows are highly selective and almost exclusively dealer-driven.

    There is more activity being seen in the CLO space, however. .......

    SCIWire 19 May 2016

  • SFIG adds advocacy leader

    SFIG has named Thomas McCrocklin as director of advocacy. He will report directly to executive director Richard Johns and will lead the group's interactions with regulators and legislators.

    McCrocklin was most recently vp and head of federal affairs at Zurich North America. He has also served as senior counsel on the US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services and was .......

    Job Swaps 18 May 2016

  • Fund targets new structured opportunities

    Semper Capital Management is prepping a new alternative asset strategy to seize new opportunities in structured credit resulting from a combination of post-crisis regulatory changes and disruptive technology. The firm has begun making investments in target assets and will officially launch the fund on 1 June.

    "New, previously impossible products are being created as a result of big data and .......

    Job Swaps 18 May 2016

  • Tobacco ratings withdrawn

    Fitch says that it is withdrawing any outstanding ratings on US tobacco ABS. The agency notes that its confidence in the current ratings have eroded as a result of a number of individual, customised modifications to calculations that were originally made in the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).

    Fitch explains that it can no longer guarantee that its ratings are maintained for the tobacco .......

    News Round-up 17 May 2016

  • Securitisation teams to merge

    Schroders is set to take on Brookfield Investment Management's securitised products investment management team. The Brookfield team will combine with Schroders' existing ABS group in New York, which will oversee more than US$8bn in combined assets under management.

    The Brookfield team is led by md Michelle Russell-Dowe and will have access to Schroders' asset management platform, economists, research and risk .......

    Job Swaps 17 May 2016

  • Euro secondary slumbers again

    Yesterday saw another sleepy start to the week for the European securitisation secondary market.

    After a flurry of activity on Friday, the public holiday in Europe yesterday saw the whole market revert to the quieter pattern seen at the start of last week. Indeed, with many investors absent a CLO equity BWIC was postponed until Wednesday and flows across the .......

    SCIWire 17 May 2016

  • Call for clarity

    Valuation uncertainty adds to liquidity debate

    Banks' diminished market-making capacities and shrinking inventories are taking their toll on liquidity, particularly in the ABS and structured credit markets. However, a lack of clarity over valuations may also have a role to play in the liquidity debate.

    "Ultimately what the industry has to figure out - both for the good of the buy- and sell-side - is to .......

    News Analysis 16 May 2016

  • Everglades loss risk up slightly

    S&P has affirmed its double-B rating on Everglades Re II Series 2015-1. The probability of attachment and expected loss increased slightly for the risk period beginning 1 June 2016, but remains well within the permitted range.

    The ILS transaction's documents allow for a variable reset so long as the expected loss ranges between 1.21% and 1.41%. The initial attachment probability .......

    News Round-up 16 May 2016

  • Class-action proposal scrutinised

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a proposal to end the use of clauses in US financial-product contracts that prevent consumers from taking part in class-action lawsuits. Moody's suggests that the rule would create new risks for financial services companies and US ABS tied to consumer loans.

    "The fact that the proposed rule would not affect contracts outstanding before .......

    News Round-up 16 May 2016

  • PREPA deadline passes

    PREPA last week announced that it is continuing 'productive discussions' with its creditors after the Thursday deadline passed without a renewal of terms regarding its bond purchase agreement. The news follows an offer that was set out by the PREPA Bondholder Group to pre-fund the purchase price of the 2016 bonds from the utility (SCI 11 May).

    After the deadline passed, PREPA .......

    News Round-up 16 May 2016

  • Value to be had in card ABS

    The first euro-denominated credit card ABS of the year priced this week, helping to chip away at the dearth of primary supply. European credit card ABS distributed issuance is just €550m year-to-date, the second-lowest tally since 2011, so investors are increasingly focusing on secondary market opportunities.

    Just one UK credit card ABS - Penarth 2016-1 - had priced prior to .......

    News 12 May 2016

  • ILS pro takes full reins

    Rafal Walkiewicz has been appointed as the sole ceo of Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA). The move comes over a year after the ILS veteran was made co-ceo with Michael Guo, who has now stepped down from this role. As part of this reshuffle, WCMA's Vincent Lien in Hong Kong and John Philipsz in Australia will take on joint responsibility .......

    Job Swaps 12 May 2016
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