Complete news archive

  • ARS settlements completed

    FINRA says it has settled charges with HSBC Securities USA and US Bancorp Investments relating to the sale of auction rate securities (ARS) that became illiquid when auctions froze in February 2008.

    HSBC was fined US$1.5m. By July 2008 it had repurchased more than 90% of its customers' ARS holdings and offered to repurchase all remaining ARS in October that .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Exit loans 'attractive candidates' for CLOs

    As the calendar for bankruptcy emergences becomes more visible, exit financing is tipped to be a major component of 2010 loan issuance. Structured credit analysts at Barclays Capital note that, on average, spreads on exit loans have been more than 150bp wide of the general loan new issue, making them attractive candidates for secondary CLOs.

    A number of large issuers .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • Fortress affiliate takes on eight CDOs

    RAIT Financial Trust is selling or delegating its collateral management rights and responsibilities relating to eight Taberna securitisations, with approximately US$5.9bn in total assets under management, to Fortress Investment Group's affiliate TP Management for US$16.5m. The move is part of RAIT's ongoing strategy to focus resources on its core commercial real estate platform.

    The transactions include Taberna Preferred Funding II, .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Research pact achieves 'important insights'

    Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Kamakura Corporation say they have achieved promising results from the joint credit risk research pact announced in October (see SCI issue 157). As part of the research pact, RMB has served as a steering committee member on Version 5 of the Kamakura Risk Information Services public firm default models. RMB contributed a number of important .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Bronx suit seeks CMBS borrower liability

    A motion has been filed by Legal Services NYC-Bronx, on behalf of tenants living in a portfolio of ten distressed apartment buildings, arguing that once a foreclosure action is initiated and a court-appointed receiver is in place the mortgage holder can be held liable for maintaining building conditions. The rent-stabilised properties have been in decline since their owner, Milbank Real .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Goldman's Tourre surprised over ACA

    In testimony on Capitol Hill yesterday (27 April), Goldman Sach's trader Fabrice Tourre said he was surprised that CSO investor ACA believed hedge fund operator John Paulson would be an equity investor or be a long investor in Abacus 2007-AC1. He said he told ACA and IKB that he expected Paulson to buy credit protection. He further added that if .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • New hire to drive asset management activity

    David Leone has joined Newtek Asset Management as svp, responsible for expanding the firm's loan servicing and asset management activity. Newtek says Leone is experienced in all aspects of the structured investment process, and is a long-time investor in residential securities and commercial and consumer-related structured products and loans.

    Newtek chairman and ceo Barry Sloan says: "Dave's vast experience as .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • CDS spreads signal further euro pressure

    The CDS market expects Eurozone government funding pressures to intensify, pushing bond yields higher and bringing further pressure on the euro, according to Fitch Solutions. At the same time, CDS market concerns for the UK have eased dramatically since the start of the year and no further significant increases in UK funding costs are expected.

    Fitch says that since 1 .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • Advisory takes on SF staff

    Valentina Santo has joined StormHarbour Securities as a director, ABS/CLO sales and advisory. She previously held the same role at ICP since January 2009.

    Three other ICP structured finance employees are rumoured to be joining StormHarbour, including Jonathan Davis, who left his post as head of European operations and senior md for ICP Capital in late February. StormHarbour declined to .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Redwood Trust RMBS deal prices

    The much-anticipated RMBS deal from Redwood Trust launched on 23 April. The US$222.378m offering, called Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2010-H1 (SEMT 10-H1), consists of mortgage pass-through certificates.

    The triple-A rated A-1 class has a weighted average life (WAL) of 3.02 years and priced with a coupon of 3.75%. According to its prospectus, the deal has four classes of senior certificates, including .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • Fitch addresses SEC disclosure amendment

    Fitch says it cannot rate a new structured finance security using its international credit rating scale, whether issued within or outside of the US, unless it receives the written representations as outlined by the US SEC's amendment to Rule 17g-5. All engagement letters signed and returned by the arranger to Fitch on or after 2 June 2010, the effective date .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • US mortgage fraud continues to proliferate

    Reported mortgage fraud and misrepresentation by professionals in the US mortgage industry continues to climb, with a survey conducted by the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute indicating it increased by 7% from 2008 to 2009. The 2007-2008 increase was 26%.

    "While this is a noticeable increase, we believe that mortgage fraud is significantly understated, even during times of massive origination .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • Non-agency RMBS remits surprise to the upside

    April non-agency RMBS remits surprised to the upside as net new delinquencies dropped and voluntary prepayment speeds increased. JPMorgan's indices indicate that 30-day delinquencies fell by 57bp across prime RMBS, 69bp across Alt-A, 49bp across option ARMs and 33bp across sub-prime. Combined, delinquencies fell as much as 114bp, even after accounting for liquidations.

    Furthermore, six of the 80 ABX deals .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • CRE investments md hired

    NewOak Capital has appointed Carlos Vigon as CRE investments and services md. The firm says he will focus on expanding its CRE principal investments, asset management, private equity and advisory services.

    Vigon has over 22 years of CRE experience as an investor, asset manager and trader. In 2000 he founded Wilshire Holdings, a Los Angeles-based real estate private equity firm, .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Greek bailout may bring ABS FX risk

    The secondary European ABS market appears to have been insulated from Greece's ongoing funding problems. However, the FX market - which is reacting strongly to the Greek situation - could have an indirect impact on ABS bonds, according to securitisation analysts at Barclays Capital.

    The euro rallied sharply following Greece's request for activation of the rescue package. But nervousness related .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • European distressed trading head hired

    Deutsche Bank has appointed Stephen Byrne as European head of distressed trading. He will report to Gavin Colquhoun, European head of the distressed products group, and will be based in London.

    Colquhoun says: "Stephen is an important strategic hire for Deutsche Bank. His credit knowledge and market relationships will support the continued leadership and growth of our par, high yield .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Indian ABS retention requirements mandated

    The Reserve Bank of India has announced changes to its securitisation guidelines in line with the moves being taken by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions.

    Among the new guidelines is the stipulation that securitisation issuers must now invest in and continue to hold a minimum 5% stake of the outstanding amount of the security receipts issued under each class of .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • Wells Fargo creates prime auto ABS indexes

    To assess the credit performance of prime auto ABS deals, analysts at Wells Fargo Securities have begun publishing their Prime Auto ABS Indexes. The issuer data represents vintages from 2001 to 2009.

    "The shape of a loss curve or a prepayment curve is pretty similar over time as you look at auto deals," says John McElravey, senior analyst at Wells .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • Asset securitisation head steps aside

    Michael Wade has left his post as Barclays Capital's Americas asset securitisation group head, and Jay Kim and Cory Wishengrad have been promoted to replace him. Barclays has declined to comment on Wade's departure.

    Kim joined Barclays in 2001 from Salomon Smith Barney and is promoted from his role leading the automotive, equipment and prime mortgage portions of the bank's .......

    Job Swaps 28 April 2010

  • Further downgrades for Greek deals

    Moody's has taken negative rating actions on 30 structured finance transactions backed by Greek assets. The actions follow the agency's downgrade on 22 April of the Greek government's sovereign debt rating to A3 from A2 and its placement on review for further downgrade. The actions affect €6.9bn of tranches from 11 RMBS, €19.8bn from 16 ABS and €3bn from three .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010

  • Euro CDO outlook still negative

    The outlook for European structured credit transactions is still negative despite the pace of corporate credit deterioration slowing, says Fitch. The continuing economic recovery has helped slow the number of corporate loans moving into delinquency or default, but the agency says uncertainty remains about the viability of some companies and their ability to repay debt at maturity.

    The SME CLO .......

    News Round-up 28 April 2010
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