ABS

  • Positive credit card charge-off trend continues

    Moody's reports that charge-offs on US credit cards have fallen for a fourth consecutive month in December to 8.03%, down from 8.58% in November. With early stage delinquencies also declining, the agency expects the charge-off rate to continue to decline steadily in coming months - ultimately breaking below 7% by the middle of 2011.

    "The positive trends that drove the .......

    News Round-up 27 January 2011

  • ABSNet revamped

    Lewtan has updated its ABSNet website, with the aim of connecting investors in the structured finance industry to critical data, including end-of-day bond pricing from Thomson Reuters' pricing service. Additionally, the new site features a comprehensive search tool that will allow users to identify pricing and credit risk dislocations by comparing original versus current pool and bond performance data, bond .......

    Job Swaps 26 January 2011

  • Special counsel appointed

    Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft has appointed Joseph Beach as special counsel in its capital markets department. Based in the firm's Charlotte office, he will focus on loan finance, asset-backed finance and securitisation.

    Beach represents major investment banks, financial institutions, asset managers, commercial paper conduits and fund managers in secured financing ABS. He has experience in ABCP and specialises in broadly .......

    Job Swaps 26 January 2011

  • Law firm beefs up SF group

    Watson, Farley and Williams has appointed Francesco Curreli as partner in its international project and structured finance group. He joins the firm from Hogan Lovells, where he advised domestic and international lenders, borrowers and equity investors on restructuring as well as acquisition, real estate, mezzanine, project and shipping finance. Prior to this, he was part of the finance group at .......

    Job Swaps 25 January 2011

  • Partner swaps securitisation teams

    Martin Fingerhut has joined Cassels Brock & Blackwell as partner in its financial services group. Fingerhut will play a key role in the firm's securitisation team. He was previously a partner in Blake, Cassels & Graydon's financial services group and chair of its structured finance group.

     

    .......

    Job Swaps 25 January 2011

  • ABS duo promoted

    Sidley Austin has elected 28 lawyers to its partnership, including two securitisation specialists in the Chicago office. T.J. Gordon and Jeffrey Weinstein have been named partners in the firm's structured finance and securitisation practice, with the former also a partner in the syndicated and leveraged finance practice.

    Gordon's practice focuses on the representation of banks, insurance companies and other financial .......

    Job Swaps 25 January 2011

  • Full-year securitisation league tables released

    SCI has released its latest league tables for bank arrangers in the European and US structured credit and ABS markets. The figures show that in December JP Morgan in Europe and Barclays Capital in the US held on to their top spots. The leaders participated in over €28bn and US$77bn worth of qualifying deals throughout 2010.

    The tables are intended .......

    News Round-up 24 January 2011

  • Aussie stability anticipated

    Fitch says the Australian structured finance market performed well through 2010 and expects that trend to continue this year. A new report anticipates that ABS and RMBS ratings will be stable in 2011, while CMBS ratings may face pressure due to refinancing risk.

    As of end-2010, 84% of Fitch-rated Australian structured finance tranches had stable outlooks, up from 78% at .......

    News Round-up 21 January 2011

  • Structured credit head named

    Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has appointed Robert Carney as head of structured credit and securitisation. He is responsible for the bank's purchase of structured credit investments, negotiation and execution of credit hedging, new product development and the execution of asset-back funding.

    Carney was previously an executive director with Wye Tree Asset Management. Prior to this, he worked at the monoline .......

    Job Swaps 21 January 2011

  • Concerns raised over 'expert' liability

    The US SEC has voted to adopt two new sets of rules designed to revitalise the ABS market by encouraging better investor disclosure. However, SIFMA has already spoken out about a flaw it sees in the decision.

    The first set of rules requires issuers to disclose the history of the requests they received and repurchases they made related to their .......

    News Round-up 21 January 2011

  • Sponsors adapt to new criteria

    S&P reports that sponsors' action plans have helped mitigate the impact of its revised counterparty criteria. The agency confirms that the number of transactions affected by the changing criteria is lower than previously estimated as transaction sponsors have actively sought to allay the alterations' effects.

    A transition date of 18 July has been set for the changes, but S&P will .......

    News Round-up 21 January 2011

  • Goldman restructures ABS group

    Goldman Sachs has restructured its US ABS banking group, leaving Mike Millette as the sole head of structured finance. Kevin Gasvoda has taken on a different role in the bank's mortgage division.

    Under the restructuring, certain underwriting and origination activities related to MBS and ABS - which were previously housed in the bank's securities division - are being moved to .......

    Job Swaps 20 January 2011

  • Greek deals hit by sovereign downgrade

    Fitch has downgraded 29 tranches - 26 RMBS, three ABS - of 17 Greek structured finance transactions (14 RMBS, three ABS). The agency has also affirmed 11 RMBS tranches, all of which have a negative outlook.

    The rating actions follow the agency's downgrade of Greece's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) to double-B plus from triple-B minus. .......

    News Round-up 20 January 2011

  • Counterparty risk criteria rolled out

    S&P yesterday rolled out its updated criteria for assessing counterparty and supporting obligations to North America and EMEA securitisations, following their Asia-Pacific and Japan implementation (see SCI 18 January). The rating agency has placed or kept on credit watch negative its credit ratings on 950 classes of notes in 482 North American and 1,981 tranches in 964 EMEA deals.

    The aggregate .......

    News Round-up 19 January 2011

  • Risk retention study published

    The US Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has released a study on the Dodd-Frank Act's risk retention requirements. The study notes that securitisation provides important economic benefits by improving the availability and affordability of credit to a diverse group of consumers, businesses and homeowners.

    The FSOC suggests that the requirement to retain at least 5% of the credit risk of .......

    News Round-up 19 January 2011

  • Stable outlook for Asia ex-Japan SF

    Moody's performance outlook for cross-border Korean transactions, including RMBS, auto loan ABS and credit card ABS, as well as Singaporean CMBS and Asia Pacific ex-Japan balance sheet CLOs is stable.

    "The outlook on the Korean assets is driven by the country's economic recovery and the low unemployment rate. Receivables performance should remain stable," says Moody's vp Marie Lam.

    However, caution .......

    News Round-up 19 January 2011

  • Japanese ABS on recovering trend

    Moody's reports that the performance of assets in Japan SF deals are recovering. The rating agency believes that in comparison to 2010, overall asset performance in 2011 will be fairly stable.

    The Japanese economy is improving gradually and although the employment and income situation remains severe, it is expected to make a slow recovery. However, while the financing environment is .......

    News Round-up 18 January 2011

  • Counterparty risk rating actions begin

    S&P has begun implementing its new criteria for assessing counterparty and supporting obligations in structured finance transactions, placing or keeping on credit watch negative the ratings on 108 classes of notes in 73 Asia-Pacific deals and 13 classes in eight Japanese deals. The agency is expected to make separate announcements in connection with US and EMEA transactions imminently.

    Of the .......

    News Round-up 18 January 2011

  • FFELP ABS targeted for operational risk

    Moody's reports that some US student loan ABS may be subject to downgrade if they do not meet the agency's proposed guidelines on operational risk. Certain characteristics of student loan ABS, particularly in FFELP-backed securities, mitigate operational risks compared to other ABS, the agency says.

    "The roles and responsibilities of some key transaction parties - including master servicers, primary servicers .......

    News Round-up 17 January 2011

  • Increased compensation to reduce set-off risk

    Moody's says that the new EU deposit compensation legislation will affect its assessment of set-off risk for certain European SF transactions.

    The required deposit compensation limit for each EU member state has increased from €50,000 to €100,000 per depositor, in line with the latest amendments to the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD). This increase is expected to reduce exposure to .......

    News Round-up 17 January 2011

  • New Mexican ABS participants, assets expected

    New participants appear poised to enter the Mexican securitisation market in 2011, according to S&P. The agency believes that the country's economy is stabilising, which could help the securitisation market's recovery.

    "While new issuance levels will likely remain similar or slightly higher than they were in 2010 (US$8.7bn), the new year looks favourable," S&P notes. "We anticipate several new asset .......

    News Round-up 13 January 2011
×