ABS

  • AlphaCat sidecar formed

    Validus Holdings has joined with other investors in capitalising its AlphaCat 2014 collateralised sidecar, which fully deployed its capital for the 1 January 2014 renewal season. The vehicle was funded with US$160m of equity capital, with third-party investors contributing US$138m and the balance provided by Validus. AlphaCat Managers will underwrite business for AlphaCat 2014, for which it will be paid .......

    News Round-up 9 January 2014

  • FINRA urged to revisit TRACE proposal

    SIFMA has submitted a comment letter to the SEC on FINRA's proposed rule change relating to TRACE reporting and dissemination of transactions in additional ABS (SCI 5 November 2013). The association requests that FINRA not implement this proposal and instead engage in further discussion with the industry as to how best to preserve ABS market liquidity and re-propose this proposal .......

    News Round-up 9 January 2014

  • Indian trade reporting mandated

    As part of its efforts to improve transparency in the Indian securitisation market, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a circular requiring reporting and clearing of trades to be implemented by 1 April. Reporting platforms will provide data to include issuer name, ISIN number, face value, maturity date, current coupon, last price reported, last amount reported .......

    News Round-up 8 January 2014

  • European NPLs and the advantages of securitisation

    Dennis Buckley, director at Credit Mediation Limited, discus...

    Estimates from reports compiled by PwC and EY put the current volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) made by banks within the EU at between €1.2trn and €1.5trn, with these levels expected to rise further in the next few years. The market has seen a number of high-profile sales of large NPL portfolios, the most recent being Lloyds' sale of its .......

    Talking Point 7 January 2014

  • ABS bid-lists reappearing

    Auto and credit card bonds dominated supply in the US ABS secondary market yesterday, as BWIC volume begins to pick up following the seasonal break. SCI's PriceABS data also shows a number of timeshare ABS tranches out for the bid, with bid-list volumes totalling just over US$100m for the session.

    The auto ABS bonds circulating yesterday included the .......

    Market Reports 7 January 2014

  • SLM servicing disruptions eyed

    As Sallie Mae transitions certain assets and functions under its reorganisation (SCI 30 May 2013), both newly created entities - SLM BankCo and NewCo - could see some short-term servicing disruptions. Indeed, Sallie Mae disclosed during its third-quarter earnings call that an increase in delinquency from the previous quarter was caused by the transition of the company's private credit portfolio .......

    News 6 January 2014

  • Quota share sidecar launched

    SCOR has placed a fully collateralised sidecar, Atlas X Reinsurance, which will provide the firm with an additional three-year capacity of US$55.5m from a new panel of investors. Atlas X - an Irish-domiciled special purpose reinsurance vehicle - and SCOR Global P&C have entered into a quota share retrocession agreement, under which Atlas X will reinsure a proportional share of .......

    News Round-up 6 January 2014

  • Solvency revisions still strict

    EIOPA has recalibrated the proposed Solvency 2 spread risk charges for securitisations to increase differentiation between ABS asset classes (SCI 20 December 2013). However, securitisation remains heavily penalised under the current proposals, with the capital charges potentially making it more efficient to invest in the underlying assets than in a securitised bond.

    While proposed capital charges for some bonds are .......

    News 3 January 2014

  • Strong ILS demand to continue

    As investor demand has continued to grow for catastrophe bonds, sponsors have been able to offer deals at considerably lower coupon rates and with increasingly favourable structures that suit individual company requirements, Fitch notes. The agency suggests that continued strong demand for a diversifying set of risks remains the key driver of the ILS market.

    The cat bond sector experienced .......

    News Round-up 3 January 2014

  • CRA examination report issued

    The US SEC has issued its annual staff report on the findings of examinations of the 10 credit rating agencies registered as NRSROs. Among the areas examined are whether each NRSRO conducts business in accordance with its policies, procedures and methodologies, as well as how an NRSRO manages conflicts of interest and whether it maintains effective internal controls.

    The 2013 .......

    News Round-up 2 January 2014

  • HQLA move welcomed

    Further details have emerged on the EBA's updated definition of high quality liquid assets (HQLA) in relation to RMBS (SCI 20 December). Under the clarifications, RMBS bonds with the following criteria will be counted as HQLA for the purposes of the LCR: ratings of at least AA-/Aa3; minimum issue size of €100m-equivalent; maximum time to maturity of five years; and .......

    News Round-up 24 December 2013

  • Euro ABS, MBS outlooks mixed

    After declining this year for the first time since 2008, European ABS volumes are expected to rise again in 2014. European RMBS volumes are anticipated to be broadly steady next year, while the growth seen in investor-placed European CMBS issuance could slow, according to S&P.

    Investor-placed ABS issuance reached about €20bn in 2013, down from €27bn in 2012. That is .......

    News Round-up 24 December 2013

  • ABCP outstandings to decline

    S&P believes that the US ABCP industry will continue to face obstacles to growth in 2014, specifically the complex regulatory environment, the sluggish economy and prolonged low interest rates. US ABCP outstandings reached a peak of US$1.2trn in July 2007, but declined sharply to US$254.1bn, as of 18 December 2013. The agency expects outstandings to modestly decline to US$210bn-US$240bn next .......

    News Round-up 24 December 2013

  • Cherry picking

    Euro relative value trades explored

    The European securitisation market offers a number of relative value opportunities going into 2014. Top picks include CLO 1.0, mezzanine CMBS and peripheral RMBS bonds.

    European ABS relative value is being driven by seemingly irrational investor behaviour and US appetite, according to Peter Nowell, head of ABS trading at BNP Paribas. He cites Dutch RMBS as an example: the sector .......

    News Analysis 24 December 2013

  • Rules of engagement

    Dialogue helps take edge off regulatory requirements

    Regulatory decisions and indecision have set the tone for structured finance around the world since the financial crisis. The European market in particular has been choked by tight guidelines, but there are signs of a softening regulatory stance as the industry continues to engage with regulators and policymakers.

    "The structured finance market is not dead. It has restarted in the .......

    News Analysis 24 December 2013

  • KBC PPA amended

    The Belgian government has amended the Portfolio Protection Agreement (PPA) for KBC's CDO and ABS portfolio and added an incentive for the bank to accelerate reduction of the remaining exposure. Additional clauses have been added to the revised agreement that grant KBC a conditional discount on the outstanding premiums, under certain strict conditions and limited to a set maximum amount.

    News Round-up 23 December 2013

  • Modest rise for Indian ABS delinquencies?

    Fitch reports that a continued deceleration in India's economic growth in 2014 will hurt the payment ability of all commercial vehicle (CV) loan obligors in the country. The agency expects the 90+ days past due rate of all Fitch-rated CV loan ABS transactions to increase in 2014, with the increases more marked in recent vintages. Fitch expects 180+ day delinquencies .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2013

  • Punch downgraded ahead of restructuring

    Moody's has downgraded the ratings of six classes of notes issued by Punch Taverns Finance (Punch A) and three classes of notes issued by Punch Taverns Finance B (Punch B). The Punch A M1 and M2, as well as Punch B B1 and B2 notes remain on review for possible downgrade.

    The rating action was prompted by the progress update .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2013

  • Budget to pressurise SLABS servicers

    Fitch expects the budget agreement that passed in US Congress last week to pressurise FFELP guarantors and smaller student loan servicers, as well as add incremental risk to student loan ABS pools. The US$1.01trn budget removes approximately half of the sequestration cuts and reduces government payments to FFELP guarantors and non-for-profit servicers servicing federal direct loan programmes. It also decreases .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2013

  • RBA reporting templates finalised

    The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has finalised its reporting requirements for CMBS and other ABS, as well as measures to strengthen borrower privacy under the RMBS reporting arrangements, following a consultation on proposed new eligibility criteria (SCI 3 October). The implementation date for the new reporting requirements for CMBS and other ABS is 30 June 2015.

    From this date, .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2013

  • Rising sun

    Solar ABS market generating momentum

    Recent solar securitisation deals in both the UK and US bode well for the future of the asset class. However, achieving scalability is just one of the challenges in making the move from an esoteric asset class to a mainstream ABS product.

    Independent Debt Capital Markets recently placed TRFC 2013-1 with six investors in the UK (SCI 20 December). But .......

    News Analysis 23 December 2013
×