Complete news archive

  • CRE investment firm founded

    An independent commercial real estate investment management firm has launched, funded by new investors and a management team that has moved from FirstKey Lending. Dubbed Allegiant, it has also inked advisory and consulting agreements with FirstKey over its existing US$215m loan portfolio.

    Additionally, Allegiant will deploy up to US$500m for investment in and management of commercial real estate debt opportunities, .......

    Job Swaps 12 September 2016

  • ILS firm boosts expertise

    Michael Watson has joined Vario Partners in a non-executive capacity. He officially begins at the ILS firm on 1 October 2016.

    Watson is known for leading the management buy-out of Canopius, which was then sold to Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance in 2013. He remains chairman of Sompo Canopius and is also a member of the Council of Lloyd's and a .......

    Job Swaps 12 September 2016

  • NPL portfolio on the block

    Freddie Mac is auctioning off a US$1.1bn portfolio of seasoned non-performing residential whole loans held in its mortgage investment portfolio. The NPLs are currently serviced by Wells Fargo or Ditech Financial.

    The NPLs are being marketed via five pools: four standard pool offerings (SPO) and one extended timeline pool offering (EXPO). Bids are due from qualified bidders on 29 September .......

    News Round-up 12 September 2016

  • Armenian ABS debuts

    Cardno has provided technical assistance to the US Agency for International Development in connection with Armenia's first-ever securitised bond. The transaction raised US$5m in new funding for five non-bank credit institutions and introduced a new ABS to the Armenian market using a mixed portfolio of microbusiness and consumer loans.

    Under USAID's Finance for Economic Development (FED) programme, Cardno introduced the .......

    News Round-up 12 September 2016

  • KBRA makes more moves

    Kroll Bond Rating Agency has appointed Ira Powell as chief of staff, following the hire of Mauricio Noe to head its European efforts (SCI 9 September). Powell was previously chief credit officer for KBRA, but now takes on a broader management and operating role. He will continue to report to Jim Nadler, president and coo at KBRA.

    .......

    Job Swaps 12 September 2016

  • SCI Start the Week - 12 September

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

    Pipeline

    A flood of ABS and CMBS additions swelled the pipeline last week. There were 18 of the former and seven of the latter.

    The ABS consisted of: US$250m BCC Funding XIII Series 2016-1; US$769m Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust 2016-3; US$752m CNH Equipment Trust 2016-C; US$230m First Investors Auto Owner Trust 2016-2; €514.5m Globaldrive .......

    News 12 September 2016

  • Euro CMBS delinquencies rise

    At the end of August 2016, the European CMBS 12-month rolling loan maturity default rate rose to 24.4% from 11.9%, according to S&P. The delinquency rate on continental European senior loans increased to 63.9% from 59.6%. In the UK it rose to 25.4% from 21.8%, meaning the total senior loan delinquency rate for Europe increased to 50% from 46.1%.

    .......

    News Round-up 12 September 2016

  • Cannibal territory?

    Covered bond growth poses threat to RMBS

    The pace of the ECB's investment in the ABSPP and CBPP3 appears to be slowing, yet the impact the programmes have had on the market is undeniable, with covered bond volumes now threatening to eclipse RMBS. The comparative simplicity of covered bonds and their resulting favour with the ECB appears to have directly fed the cycle whereby covered bond issuance .......

    News Analysis 12 September 2016

  • Sukuk issuance remains patchy

    Corporate and infrastructure sukuk issuance in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Malaysia has continued to stagnate so far this year and may well continue to do so in the following quarters, says S&P. This is despite favourable conditions for more supply, including low interest rates and investor appetite for Islamic assets.

    Instead, S&P believes the market has brighter issuance prospects .......

    News Round-up 9 September 2016

  • Prepayment spikes

    Shift in focus for agency CRT investors?

    Investors in US agency credit risk transfer (CRT) RMBS are taking note of recent STACR prepayment spikes. Robust performance and the re-emergence of a structural nuance have spurred a shift in focus for a sector historically focused on credit risk.

    Freddie Mac STACR prepayment speeds for July continued their recent trend of increasing, with most deals surpassing their highs from .......

    News Analysis 9 September 2016

  • CIFC pair jump ship

    MidOcean Partners has hired Spencer Potts and Ruth Lane from CIFC, with the former coming in as head of business development and the latter as head of investor relations. They join following the recent announcement that FAB Group is set to acquire CIFC for approximately US$333m (SCI 23 August).

    Prior to joining MidOcean, Potts was head of business development at .......

    Job Swaps 9 September 2016

  • Private credit team bolstered

    Adams Street Partners has added four hires to its private credit team, building on the launch of the strategy by former Oaktree Capital executives Bill Sacher and Shahab Rashid in January 2016 (SCI 27 January). Frederick Chung, formerly a vp at Goldman Sachs, has been appointed as a principal. Former Morgan Stanley associate Thomas Petty has joined as a senior .......

    Job Swaps 9 September 2016

  • MBS salesman suspended

    Kevin Blaney has agreed to pay a US$30,000 fine and serve a three-month suspension from association with any FINRA members over alleged misleading of customers. The suspension leaves the former Jefferies md and MBS salesman unable to make any contact in the industry until after 5 December.

    FINRA's investigations found that Blaney was tied to six transactions at Jefferies, where .......

    Job Swaps 9 September 2016

  • Resource America acquisition completed

    C-III Capital Partners has finalised its acquisition of Resource America, with the move approved last month (SCI 26 August). Resource America stockholders will be entitled to US$9.78 per share in cash, which equates to a total of around US$207m.

    "This is a transformative acquisition for C-III," says Andrew Farkas, chairman and ceo of C-III. "With our expanded platform, we are .......

    Job Swaps 9 September 2016

  • Agency hires for Europe push

    Kroll Bond Rating Agency has brought in Mauricio Noe as head of Europe, with plans for the US agency to eventually establish a full securitisation rating service on the continent. Noe joins from Themis Investment Management, where he was a director and senior advisor. He has also held senior roles at Deutsche Bank, RBS, ABN Amro and Freshfields.

    .......

    Job Swaps 9 September 2016

  • Cat bond issuance declining

    Catastrophe bond issuance averaged two deals a month in the 12 months to 30 June 2016, notes Aon Securities in its annual report on the sector. Despite an increase in alternative capital in reinsurance, less is being allocated to cat bonds.

    There were 24 cat bonds closed during the period, with a total limit of US$5.2bn, which represents a drop .......

    News Round-up 9 September 2016

  • OTC amendment objections raised

    The three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) - EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - have expressed concerns over the European Commission's proposed amendments to the regulatory standards on risk mitigation techniques for non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives. This includes a rejection of the proposal to remove concentration limits on initial margin for pension schemes.

    The ESAs emphasise that these limits are crucial for mitigating potential risks pension .......

    News Round-up 9 September 2016

  • Credit unions express CSP concerns

    The FHFA's planned Common Securitisation Platform (CSP) might have a negative impact on credit unions, according to The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU). In a recent letter to the FHFA, NAFCU counsel Ann Kossachev expresses several concerns about the potential pitfalls of the CSP.

    Kossachev comments: "Although FHFA's efforts to create a more efficient platform with an 'open .......

    News Round-up 9 September 2016

  • US CLOs still tightening

    The US CLO secondary market is continuing its summer surge into September.

    "The key theme is that spreads are continuing to tighten, particularly in the senior territory," says one trader. "Double-As and triple-As are trading either close to or above par. There is also a triple-A BWIC today that includes some decent names and should perform similarly."

    Meanwhile, the spread .......

    SCIWire 8 September 2016

  • Canadian SF market 'strong'

    The Canadian securitisation market has remained healthy and balanced throughout 2016, according to DBRS. The rating agency maintains its positive outlook for Canadian structured finance despite challenges to the country's economy such as a fall in oil prices.

    New issuance in ABS and ABCP from January to end-August has been strong at C$27.0bn, spurred by consumer spending, with 84% of .......

    News Round-up 8 September 2016

  • 'Less risk' in marketplace RMBS

    Additional risks posed to RMBS issued by marketplace lenders (MPLs) will be mitigated by existing regulatory and securitisation frameworks, Moody's says. In a recent comment, the rating agency says it expects future issuance of RMBS from MPLs, but suggests that it will pose less risk than unsecured consumer loan ABS issued by MPLs.

    The agency has repeatedly stressed the lack .......

    News Round-up 8 September 2016
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