ABS

  • Counterparty risk update hits Euro SF

    S&P estimates that approximately 29% of all its outstanding rated structured finance transactions could be affected and placed on credit watch negative on 17 January 2011, following the updates made to its methodology and assumptions for assessing counterparty risk (see SCI 3 December). S&P has derived this estimate by counting transactions that include counterparty roles covered by the new criteria .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2010

  • Greek RWN impacts SF

    Fitch has placed all tranches of its rated Greek structured finance transactions on rating watch negative, following the placement of the triple-B Greek sovereign rating on RWN. The agency currently rates 18 SF transactions ­- 15 RMBS and 3 ABS - containing Greek collateral.

    Fitch says that if the sovereign rating is downgraded, it will assess the rating cap impact .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2010

  • Positive momentum continues for US auto ABS

    Positive momentum in the US used vehicle market continues to buck seasonal trends, according to Fitch. However, while the agency remains optimistic about the effect used vehicle values will have in the auto ABS sector in the near term, it remains cautious in its outlook for the medium term.

    "Tight vehicle supply continues to push used vehicle values to record .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2010

  • Enhanced reporting requested for student loan ABS

    S&P is requesting issuers and servicers of US student loan ABS to provide it with data reporting enhancements during its surveillance process. The agency says that the enhanced data will enhance its surveillance efforts and increase market transparency by including the additional information in its published articles.

    The data reporting enhancements collectively constitute what the agency views to be a .......

    News Round-up 22 December 2010

  • DSB case highlights back-up servicer role

    More than a year after the bankruptcy of DSB Bank, its delinquency rates for ABS and RMBS transactions have declined significantly, despite an initial spike. However, Moody's notes the continued efficiency of DSB's servicing operations, as well as uncertainty regarding the size of losses from its 'due care claims'.

    The agency says it has seen a substantial drop in 60+ .......

    News Round-up 22 December 2010

  • Tobacco settlement bonds reviewed

    Moody's has taken action on 35 securitisations of payments owed to the issuers pursuant to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between domestic tobacco manufacturers and 46 states and certain territories party thereto.

    The actions are being taken as a result of the adjudication of the Freedom Holdings case - the outcome of which reduces the uncertainty surrounding certain legal risks .......

    News Round-up 22 December 2010

  • Structured finance pair promoted

    Perella Weinberg Partners has elected six individuals to join its partnership from 1 January 2011, two of whom are structured finance professionals. Andrew Dym and Mark McGreenery work in the firm's asset management department in New York.

    Dym has 23 years of experience in the structured finance industry. Prior to joining Perella Weinberg in 2008, he held positions of global .......

    Job Swaps 22 December 2010

  • Disparity continues in EMEA performance outlooks

    Moody's has raised its performance outlooks to stable from negative for ABS and RMBS in parts of the EMEA region, while outlooks for these securities in other countries remain negative. The disparity in outlooks is based on continued differences in the pace of economic recovery among individual countries, the agency reports.

    Moody's notes that economic improvement in Germany, France, the .......

    News Round-up 21 December 2010

  • Investment consulting arm adds directors

    Timothy Ng and Mark Hong have joined Clearbrook Global Advisors' investment consulting arm, Clearbrook Investment Consulting. As md and head of research, Ng will oversee all aspects of the Clearbrook research process. As director, Hong will play an integral role in the research and allocation of alternative investments.

    Hong is the former co-founder and principal of Structured Investment Group (SIG), .......

    Job Swaps 21 December 2010

  • SF counterparty criteria reviewed

    Fitch says it expects limited changes after its annual review of structured finance counterparty criteria. The minor changes to the criteria - such as content, marginal updates and supporting analysis - will be implemented to incorporate its latest advance rates and volatility cushion calculations.

    Fitch further expects the focus of the review to be on making any improvements to the .......

    News Round-up 20 December 2010

  • ECB to introduce loan-by-loan requirements

    The ECB is to establish loan-by-loan information requirements for ABS in the Eurosystem collateral framework. It intends to introduce the requirements within the next 18 months: first for RMBS and thereafter gradually for other ABS asset classes.

    Loan-level data will be provided in accordance with a template, at least on a quarterly basis on, or within one month of, a .......

    News Round-up 17 December 2010

  • Securitisation arranger numbers released

    SCI has released its latest league tables for bank arrangers in the European and US structured credit and ABS markets. The figures show JP Morgan has eased in to top spot in Europe, while in the US Barclays Capital has extended its lead for 2010 to the end of November. The leaders participated in an impressive €7.26bn and US$13.5bn worth .......

    News Round-up 17 December 2010

  • Dynamic Credit US acquisition agreed

    Duff & Phelps has acquired both Dynamic Credit Partners' US consulting business and June Consulting Group. The transactions accelerate growth initiatives in Duff & Phelps' corporate finance and legal management consulting practices, the firm says.

    "Integrating these two like-minded firms into the Duff & Phelps culture and service platform expands our footprint in key markets. These strategic investments also fall in .......

    Job Swaps 16 December 2010

  • Absolute return fund launched

    Loomis, Sayles & Company has launched the Loomis Sayles Absolute Strategies Fund - a global absolute return-oriented fixed income strategy. The fund, the firm says, aims to be an 'all weather' product for investors seeking consistent returns through all market environments.

    The investment process will begin by identifying key global macro themes - including global inflation scenarios, yield curves, currency .......

    News Round-up 16 December 2010

  • Receivables securitisation programme launched

    Armstrong World Industries has established a US$100m receivables securitisation programme. Under the programme, Armstrong World Industries and its subsidiary Armstrong Hardwood Flooring Company will sell their US receivables to Armstrong Receivables Company (ARC), a Delaware special purpose entity. ARC will in turn initially finance those receivables through Credit Agricole.

    In addition to the financing of receivables by Credit Agricole, under .......

    News Round-up 15 December 2010

  • Positive outlook for auto ABS

    Moody's outlook for the US auto ABS sector in 2011 is positive, benefiting from continued strong underwriting, a turnaround in the US auto industry and a strong used car market. The volume of issuance in the sector is likely to increase substantially in 2011, the agency says.

    The quality of underwriting should ensure that loan and lease ABS performance continues to .......

    News Round-up 14 December 2010

  • NCUA student loan deal closes

    The US National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has closed its debut student loan ABS resecuritisation - the US$1.16bn NCUA Guaranteed Notes Trust 2010-A1 - via Barclays Capital. The coupon pays 35bp over Libor - an indication of strong investor interest, the agency says.

    The NCUA has now completed 60% of the securitisations designed to fund deposits assumed by the bridge corporate .......

    News Round-up 14 December 2010

  • State Street unloads legacy assets

    Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital are understood to have acquired approximately US$11bn of legacy securitisation assets from State Street. The firm sold around US$4.1bn US non-agency RMBS and US$3.7bn US ABS, as well as US$2.5bn non-US mortgage-backed and US$600m asset-backed securities.

    State Street says this transaction accomplishes several strategic objectives, including: increasing its balance sheet flexibility in deploying its capital; .......

    Job Swaps 10 December 2010

  • High inflation could weaken Argentine SF

    Moody's says that GDP growth and low unemployment is expected to continue to support the performance of Argentine banks' and financial companies' loan portfolios and securitisations. Argentine transactions have benefitted from strong credit enhancement and excess spread, while securitisations backed by personal loans with automatic deduction mechanisms performed well compared to the loans without the feature.

    However, the agency says .......

    News Round-up 9 December 2010

  • Positive momentum for US credit card ABS

    Losses and delinquencies for US prime credit card ABS charge-offs continue to ride a wave of positive momentum as 2010 draws to a close, according to Fitch.

    "Ongoing improvements in delinquency trends indicate card charge-offs may recede further in the coming months. We are starting to see positive divergence of loss rates from employment numbers, which indicates that credit card portfolio .......

    News Round-up 8 December 2010

  • Irish SF ratings on review

    S&P has placed or kept on credit watch negative credit ratings on 36 tranches of 14 Irish securitisations. The move is due to the agency's updated assessment of the amounts the Irish government is set to borrow to fund further bank capital into its banking system.

    Specifically, the agency has placed the triple-A ratings in five Irish RMBS transactions on .......

    News Round-up 8 December 2010
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