Complete news archive

  • Deals reset middle-market expectations

    Middle-market CLO issuance has picked up again, following a summer lull, and spreads have ground tighter. Investors will be keeping an eye on how tight spreads get, and also on the risk of credit issues as competition for assets intensifies.

    When TCP Whitney CLO 2017-1 priced at the start of August it did so at the tightest triple-A spreads for .......

    News Analysis 4 September 2017

  • Further ratings reviewed on margin requirements

    Fitch has placed 38 ABS tranches on rating watch negative, due to the reduced likelihood of counterparty replacement, resulting from new two-way margin posting requirements (SCI passim). The rating agency notes that one of its key considerations is the ability to replace a counterparty following their downgrade below defined trigger levels and a key factor in achieving ratings above that .......

    News 4 September 2017

  • SCI Start the Week - 4 September

    A look at the major activity in structured finance over the past seven days.

    Pipeline
    There were relatively few pipeline additions ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The final count consisted of four ABS and a trio of Australian RMBS.

    CNY4bn Driver China Seven, £438.1m Driver UK Six, Motor 2017-1 and US$1.03bn Navient Student Loan Trust 2017-5 accounted for the ABS. The Aussie RMBS were Apollo Trust 2017-2, Firstmac Mortgage Funding Trust 2017-2 .......

    News 4 September 2017

  • Job swaps round-up - 1 September

    EMEA

    Credit Suisse has hired Constantin Hulst as a CLO structurer to its European CLO origination team in London, reporting to Michael Malek, head of European CLO structuring. Hulst was previously at BNP Paribas, where he was an analyst and structurer in the CLO team.

    North America

    Allianz Global Investors has hired Mona Mahajan as its new US investment strategist. She .......

    Job Swaps 1 September 2017

  • Direct issuance achieves CMBS firsts

    The recent US single-asset/single-borrower CMBS from the Shidler Group - HMH Trust 2017-NSS (see SCI's primary issuance database) - debuted a new direct issuance model, at least post the financial crisis. The transaction features several innovations, including a unique risk retention structure and extra borrower control.

    Proceeds from the US$204m transaction were used by the Shidler Group to .......

    News Analysis 1 September 2017

  • Risk transfer round-up - 1 September

    As expected, August was a quiet month for capital relief trade issuances. But market sources continue to expect activity to significantly pick up in Q4.

    Among the transactions anticipated next quarter are two commercial real estate deals in Germany and a significant risk transfer trade between a British bank and Ares Management. Regarding Q4 activity overall, one source states: "It .......

    News 1 September 2017

  • Hurricane Harvey impact weighed

    While the picture is not yet clear in terms of the total damage inflicted by Hurricane Harvey, it looks set to impact several sectors across securitisation. RMBS and CMBS appear likely to be most affected, along with credit risk transfer transactions and potentially auto ABS.

    CMBS 2.0 transactions are set to be most affected, with Morgan Stanley estimating that 241 .......

    News 1 September 2017

  • CLO secondary trading slows

    Primary CLO issuance is booming, although secondary market activity has dipped this year. The glut of refinancings seen earlier in the year appears to have played a significant part in this.

    In the primary market, almost US$12bn of US CLOs was issued in the first three weeks of August, enough to make the month the second busiest of the year. .......

    News 31 August 2017

  • Job swaps round-up - 25 August

    EMEA

    Fitch has appointed Marjan van der Weijden as global group head of structured finance and covered bonds, based in London. She has been with Fitch for 18 years and most recently served as head of EMEA structured finance since 2010. The agency has also appointed Kevin Duignan as global group head for financial institutions, based in New York. He .......

    Job Swaps 25 August 2017

  • Libor transition provisions eyed

    Despite the UK FCA's recent announcement that it plans to phase Libor out by 2021 (SCI 31 July), the move is far from an outright ban and the benchmark could live on past the deadline. However, without any agreement as yet about a successor rate, uncertainty prevails over how the estimated US$150trn bonds with exposure to Libor will be affected.

    News Analysis 25 August 2017

  • Ukrainian NPL sales gain traction

    DebtX is set to facilitate the largest Ukrainian NPL portfolio sale next month, signalling a growing shift in sentiment by international investors in the country's NPL market. The US$240m commercial loan pool is secured by assets that are representative of the market as a whole, including resorts, supermarkets, agricultural operations and logistics.

    "The government has been testing the market with .......

    News Analysis 25 August 2017

  • Debut CRE CLO closed

    Hunt Mortgage Group has closed its inaugural US$349.3m CRE CLO, dubbed Hunt CRE 2017-FL1. The transaction is backed by 23 floating-rate mortgages secured by 36 transitional properties, with plans to stabilise and improve the asset value.

    Hunt's first CLO follows the recruitment of several staff with extensive securitisation expertise. This effort began nearly two years ago, with the hire of .......

    News 24 August 2017

  • Large loan volatility examined

    Larger properties have shown higher default rates than smaller properties in US CMBS over the last decade, according to DBRS. While this is partly due to the recession, the rating agency also finds that cashflow is more volatile in portfolios of larger loans.

    Over time, cashflow change in portfolios of larger loans appears more volatile, with steep decreases in a .......

    News 23 August 2017

  • NPL auction model highlighted

    Online platform Debitos welcomes the European Commission's public consultation on the development of a secondary market for non-performing loans (SCI 11 July). The platform's auction process offers a potential model for dealing with Europe's NPL overhang by narrowing the bid/ask gap.

    Debitos founder and md Timur Peters sees the consultation as a confirmation of his business concept. "It's about the .......

    News Analysis 23 August 2017

  • Bond Connect debuts auto ABS

    Ford Automotive Finance (China) (FAFC) has launched the first securitisation utilising Bond Connect, which allows offshore investors to participate in China's inter-bank bond market. The RMB3.77bn Fuyuan 2017-2 auto loan ABS is also noteworthy for being rated by two domestic and two international rating agencies.

    A China Foreign Exchange Trade System/HKEX joint venture, the Bond Connect platform was established last .......

    News 23 August 2017

  • IBR driving collateral convergence

    FFELP student loan ABS collateral performance has converged in recent years due to the growing use of income-based repayments (IBR). Wells Fargo structured products analysts suggest that this convergence should spur investors to reassess their "old school" prepayment pricing assumptions.

    Principal paydowns are more similar than different, despite the various prepayment rates among FFELP SLABS collateral, according to a recent .......

    News 22 August 2017

  • Dutch deal breaks BTL ground

    RNHB last month priced a Dutch buy-to-let (BTL) RMBS dubbed Dutch Property Finance 2017-1 (see SCI's primary issuance database), marking the first of its kind from the jurisdiction and including several unusual features (SCI 17 July). However, only €824.5m of bonds were placed with investors, despite the deal originally being marketed at €1.5bn.

    Ruben van Leeuwen, head of .......

    News Analysis 21 August 2017

  • SCI Start the Week - 21 August

    A look at the major activity in structured finance over the past seven days

    Pipeline
    Only a handful of transactions remained in the pipeline at the end of last week. The majority of the deals were from the Asia-Pacific market.

    Accounting for the newly-announced APAC deals were the A$500m Latitude Australia Credit Card Loan Note Trust Series 2017-2 and RMB3bn Rongfa 2017-1 ABS, as well as the A$350m AFG 2017-1 Trust RMBS. The .......

    News 21 August 2017

  • Job swaps round-up - 18 August

    North America

    Redwood Trust has appointed Dashiell Robinson to the newly formed position of evp, overseeing the firm's financial and portfolio investment functions, as well as working with its ceo Marty Hughes and president Chris Abate in advancing its long-term business strategies. Robinson will begin at the firm in October, reporting to Abate, having previously served as head of mortgage .......

    Job Swaps 18 August 2017

  • Risk transfer framework outlined

    Outlines of the main elements of the EBA's risk transfer discussion paper - due to be released next month - have been revealed. The recommendations will focus on the main structural features of risk transfer transactions and may at a later stage result in regulatory changes. It remains unclear whether the consultation will result in final technical advice, however.

    The .......

    News 18 August 2017

  • Streamlined refi programmes near

    The US FHFA has extended HARP through to the end of 2018 and announced that the new GSE streamlined refinance programme for high LTV borrowers will be effective from 1 October. Given that the eligibility criteria considerably limit the population that can take advantage of the new programme, it appears to be geared towards having an efficient refinancing construct in .......

    News 18 August 2017
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