ABS

  • EBA work plan expanded

    The EBA has released an addendum to its work plan for 2014, following a series of calls for advice from the European Commission. The additional work will mostly consist of technical advice on a number of topics related to provisions in the CRR/CRD, informing the Commission in the preparation of reports to the European Parliament and the Council.

    The technical .......

    News Round-up 16 April 2014

  • Peripheral country caps lifted

    Fitch has taken positive rating action on 150 tranches of 113 structured finance transactions that are capped relative to the sovereign ratings of Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The move follows the revision of the caps on structured finance (SF) ratings to align them with the country ceilings of those countries, six notches above the respective sovereign issuer default ratings (IDR). .......

    News Round-up 16 April 2014

  • US ABS activity accelerates

    SCI's PriceABS data shows a mix of auto and railcar bonds circulating on bid-lists yesterday as US ABS secondary market activity picked up. BWIC volume for the session reached around US$125m.

    Among the auto tranches out for the bid was AMCAR 2013-3 D, which was covered at 103. That was the first time the tranche had .......

    Market Reports 16 April 2014

  • Large exposure controls finalised

    The Basel Committee has published a final standard that sets out a supervisory framework for measuring and controlling large exposures, which will take effect from 1 January 2019. The framework is designed to protect banks from significant losses caused by the sudden default of an individual counterparty or a group of connected counterparties.

    In cases where the bank's counterparty is .......

    News Round-up 16 April 2014

  • Punch proposes securitisation waivers

    Restructuring negotiations for Punch's securitisations continue and both  have requested DSCR waivers. Punch A is non-compliant with its DSCR covenant, while Punch B will be non-compliant at its next testing date.

    Punch's results for the first half of the 2014 financial year show continued progress in its core portfolio. Like-for-like net income growth is up 1.4% as the group has .......

    News 15 April 2014

  • SLM split scheduled

    Sallie Mae's board has formally approved the separation of its loan servicing business line from its consumer banking business. The loan servicing entity will be called Navient, while the consumer banking business will retain the Sallie Mae brand.

    The split is scheduled for 30 April, with the separation achieved via a dividend distribution to Sallie Mae shareholders on 22 April. .......

    News Round-up 15 April 2014

  • Decisive action

    Katie Skeels, associate at Hogan Lovells, examines current t...

    Hogan Lovells recently published a report - entitled 'Global Currents - Trends in Complex Cross-Border Disputes 2014' - which surveys current trends in cross-border disputes. The results suggest that senior executives and in-house counsel are proactively developing their dispute management strategies, including for securitisations, to suit the increasingly global business landscape.

    In an increasingly globalised economy, there are significant benefits .......

    Talking Point 15 April 2014

  • NSFR framework critiqued

    The Basel Committee's amended proposal for a minimum standard ratio for bank funding would introduce globally harmonised requirements that would potentially reduce funding mismatches, according to S&P. The agency adds, however, that the proposals contain some potential inconsistencies and gaps - and that the planned timeline for their implementation in January 2018 is slow.

    These observations form part of S&P's .......

    News Round-up 14 April 2014

  • Chinese leasing ABS eyed

    Amendments to rules for financial leasing companies in China look set to make leasing ABS deals possible in the jurisdiction, Fitch suggests. The rules should strengthen the operating environment for leasing companies and limit the risk of originator/servicer default.

    The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) recently released amended 'Administrative Measures for Financial Leasing Companies', which aim to encourage new entrants .......

    News Round-up 14 April 2014

  • Energy efficiency programme launched

    A US public-private partnership has been formed to facilitate lower-cost loans for home energy efficiency improvements. Dubbed the Warehouse for Energy Efficiency Loans (WHEEL), the aim is to open up the sector to large institutional investors by harnessing securitisation technology.

    WHEEL is the product of a years-long collaboration between Citi, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, Renewable Funding, the Energy Programs Consortium, .......

    News Round-up 14 April 2014

  • Call for action on 'high quality' ABS

    The ECB and the Bank of England (BoE) last Friday published a joint paper, which concludes that securitisation is an important complementary funding tool to support the real economy. In their analysis of the European ABS market, the central banks observe that current regulatory treatment of securitisation has been unduly conservative and recommend accelerating the promotion of 'high-quality' securitisation in .......

    News Round-up 14 April 2014

  • Sovereign ceiling criteria finalised

    Fitch has published its criteria detailing how ratings of structured finance (SF) notes and covered bonds (CVB) are constrained by the credit quality of the sovereign to which the SF transaction or CVB programme is exposed. The methodology is consistent with the one presented in the exposure draft published on 22 January (SCI 23 January).

    The criteria provide details of .......

    News Round-up 11 April 2014

  • Tiering emerging in aircraft ABS

    Airlines and lessors appear to have ample access to liquidity, with many having recently issued debt across various sectors - including the term-loan, ABS and corporate bond markets. Indeed, following strong issuance last year comprising four deals, momentum in the aircraft ABS primary market has continued with two deals issued year to date in 2014.

    The deals - RISE and .......

    News Round-up 10 April 2014

  • GM lease exposure examined

    US auto lease ABS is unlikely to experience near-term fallout from the recent GM recalls, but potential reputational damage to the company's brand could be a risk in the longer term, Fitch suggests. Nevertheless, the agency expects stable ratings performance for transactions with GM vehicle exposure, due to robust credit enhancement.

    Current Fitch-rated auto lease pools have little exposure to .......

    News Round-up 9 April 2014

  • Japanese credit quality improving

    S&P reports that it raised 9.41% of its outstanding ratings on Japanese structured finance securities in 2013, exceeding its downgrade rate of 5.1% for the year. The ratio of upgrades to downgrades stood at 1.85 in 2013.

    The downgrade rate had consistently exceeded the upgrade rate from 2008 through 2010, but that pattern reversed in 2011 and continued to improve .......

    News Round-up 9 April 2014

  • SLR standards finalised

    The OCC, the US Fed and the FDIC have adopted a final rule that strengthens the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) standards for US bank holding companies (BHC) with more than US$700bn in total consolidated assets or more than US$10trn in assets under custody and any insured depository institution (IDI) subsidiary of these BHCs. Under the final rule, an IDI that .......

    News Round-up 9 April 2014

  • Student loan debt discussed

    Outstanding US student loan debt grew by US$22bn to US$1.08trn, as of 4Q13, according to the New York Fed. Fitch expects increased volume of student loans and graduate-level borrowing to have a muted impact on US student loan ABS pools, however.

    This trend should continue if enrolments and tuition rise further and household income growth remains steady. Overall college enrolment .......

    News Round-up 8 April 2014

  • Rating agency moves into ABS

    Morningstar has appointed Violet Diamant as md for ABS ratings and research. She will be based in New York and will lead the agency's expansion into ABS ratings services.

    Diamant will take responsibility for analytical strategy, establishing an analyst team and developing ABS rating criteria, reporting to Morningstar president Vickie Tillman. Diamant was most recently director of credit risk management .......

    Job Swaps 8 April 2014

  • Listing business acquired

    Matheson is set to acquire Investec's Irish investment funds and debt securities listing business, following approval from the Irish Stock Exchange. Investec's listing unit assists applicants seeking to list investment fund shares or structured debt securities on the Irish Stock Exchange.

    The acquisition is expected to enhance Matheson's offering by enabling the firm to provide the full range of Irish .......

    Job Swaps 7 April 2014

  • SF lawyer on the move

    Kaye Scholer has appointed Lawton Camp as a finance partner in its New York office. He joins the firm from Allen & Overy.

    Camp specialises in structured finance and securitisation, including CDOs, CLOs, ABS, ILS, RMBS and CMBS. He has two decades of industry experience and worked at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe before joining Allen & Overy.

    .......

    Job Swaps 3 April 2014

  • Esoteric knowledge

    Investors drawn to developing non-traditional ABS market

    US esoteric ABS is attracting greater attention as investors seek yield. Several potential growth areas are emerging, with new, innovative collateral types also anticipated.

    Respondents to a recent DBRS survey overwhelmingly favoured esoteric assets over other ABS sectors and identified yield as a primary motivation (SCI 21 March). Dan Castro, president at Robust Advisors, agrees that yield is a key .......

    News Analysis 3 April 2014
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