Complete news archive

  • Ocwen settles offshore charges

    Ocwen Loan Servicing has agreed to pay a US$900,000 settlement fee over allegations that it used offshore unlicensed affiliates to perform residential mortgage servicing activities for Washington-based loans. The settlement was made with the Consumers Services Division of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

    The agreement included Ocwen dropping such practices, after it allegedly used companies in the .......

    Job Swaps 30 August 2016

  • TPG raises stakes

    TPG Specialty Lending (TSLX) has written to the independent directors of TICC Capital Corp - Steven Novak, Peter O'Brien and Tonia Pankopf - urging them to answer six questions as part of an objective evaluation of TICC's underperformance ahead of its annual meeting on 2 September. The move follows TICC's letter to its stockholders suggesting that TSLX has run a .......

    Job Swaps 30 August 2016

  • NPL RMBS tranche pays off

    The first Fitch-rated post-crisis RMBS tranche backed partly by NPLs has paid off. The single-A rated US$35m class A1s in Mortgage Fund IVc Trust 2015-RN1 paid off in full this month, ten months after the transaction closed in October 2015.

    At issuance, roughly one-third of the mortgage loan pool was 90 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure, with an .......

    News Round-up 30 August 2016

  • Internal versus external

    Third-party valuation engagements assessed

    The AIFMD's stipulation that alternative investment funds must engage the services of a third-party valuation firm has prompted a growing trend for independent firms to be employed as part of a fund's internal valuation process. Very few managers wish to appoint firms in an external valuation capacity, however, and few valuation firms are willing to take this role on.

    Ryan .......

    News Analysis 30 August 2016

  • Secondary education

    Liquidity, accurate valuations could stabilise sector

    The first half of 2016 brought several challenges for the marketplace lending industry in the US, with the Q2 results of many platforms confirming falling origination volumes and revenues, largely due to a pullback from investors. While this may raise wider concerns about the viability of the sector, some participants believe that the reason for the downturn is not a .......

    News Analysis 29 August 2016

  • Resource America merger approved

    Resource America stockholders have approved the merger of the firm with a subsidiary of C-III Capital Partners (SCI 31 May). Approximately 80% of the shares of Resource America common stock that were outstanding as of the record date of 13 June approved the merger and approximately 99.8% of the shares of Resource America common stock that were voted approved the .......

    Job Swaps 26 August 2016

  • Mid-market pro recruited

    Sterling National Bank has hired Mark Smith as md, responsible for expanding the bank's presence with middle market companies in New Jersey. Along with mid-markets, he will focus on corporate banking and capital markets.

    Prior to joining the firm, he was evp and head of capital markets at Capital One Bank, where he was responsible for establishing and leading the capital .......

    Job Swaps 26 August 2016

  • Mall CMBS performance varies

    The ability of shopping malls to retain tenants varies widely, with the recent wave of department store closures (SCI passim) and growth of online shopping exacerbating the gap between successful and unsuccessful centres. Moody's notes that these factors in turn affect the performance of loans backed by malls within CMBS transactions.

    As most mall loans within CMBS are structured with 10-year .......

    News Round-up 26 August 2016

  • Junior Trups to be redeemed?

    Institutional Financial Markets subsidiary Star Asia Finance has entered into a supplemental indenture with Bank of New York Mellon in connection with the Taberna Preferred Funding II, III, IV and V Trups CDOs. The indenture permits the Delaware company, at its option, to redeem junior subordinated securities issued by it and held by the deals in whole on or after .......

    News Round-up 26 August 2016

  • Auto ABS methodology finalised

    Scope has published its final auto ABS rating methodology, confirming that it is largely unchanged from the proposals the agency set out last month. The approach relies on transaction-specific input assumptions to allow for larger rating and transaction differentiation, even when transactions have the same originator or are based in the same country.

    The agency adds that it applies a highly granular .......

    News Round-up 26 August 2016

  • HLTV refinance programme planned

    Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are set to implement next year a new refinance offering aimed at borrowers with high loan-to-value (HLTV) ratios. The move is designed to provide liquidity for borrowers that are current on their mortgages, but are unable to refinance through traditional programmes because their LTV ratio exceeds the GSEs' maximum limits.

    "Providing a sustainable refinance opportunity .......

    News 26 August 2016

  • British steel

    Rate cut troubles for UK RMBS overstated?

    The Bank of England's decision to cut interest rates earlier this month was widely viewed as positive for the UK economy, but sparked concerns about the impact on UK RMBS issuance. However, the recent surge of alternative lenders could counteract any negative effects.

    The Bank of England announced a stimulus package on 4 August to combat the potential shocks and .......

    News Analysis 25 August 2016

  • BRAIS acquisition closed

    Bloomberg has completed its acquisition of Barclays Risk Analytics and Index Solutions (BRAIS) from Barclays (SCI 17 December 2015). The transaction includes the widely-used Barclays fixed income benchmark indices, BRAIS strategy indices and the intellectual property of the POINT portfolio analytics solution.

    The benchmark indices will be co-branded 'Bloomberg Barclays Indices' for an initial period of five years. Bloomberg will .......

    Job Swaps 25 August 2016

  • Negative rate warning for CMBS

    Moody's says that negative interest rates could be damaging for all European CMBS, but particularly for legacy and pre-2015 vintages. The agency explains that CMBS 1.0 and 2.0 transactions issued before 2015 have fewer protections against the excess spread erosion that results from negative rates.

    "CMBS 1.0 and pre-2015 CMBS 2.0 deals do not have contractual interest rate floors. Instead, they allow .......

    News Round-up 25 August 2016

  • Isolux Corsan CDS settled

    The final price of Grupo Isolux Corsan Finance CDS has been settled at 15.75. At yesterday's auction, 10 dealers submitted initial markets, physical settlement requests and limit orders to settle trades across the market referencing the entity (SCI 8 August).

    .......

    News Round-up 25 August 2016

  • Call variability observed

    Most subprime auto ABS issuers have exercised clean-up calls in a relatively efficient manner, calling deals at the clean-up call threshold or within 1-3 months after, according to a recent Wells Fargo study. However, some variability among issuers has emerged since the ABS market normalised by end-2011 that may need to be accounted for when valuing bonds.

    Wells Fargo structured .......

    News 25 August 2016

  • Nordea completes synthetic deal

    Nordea Bank has sold a synthetic securitisation referencing €8.4bn in SME and corporate loans. Investors have taken notes linked to the junior credit risk of the portfolio.

    The synthetic structure means no assets will be derecognised from Nordea's balance sheet and Nordea will continue to service the loans. The risk-sharing structure does mean that the bank's CET1 ratio is enhanced, .......

    News 25 August 2016

  • Singular circumstances

    Regulatory changes fuelling rise of 'special situations'

    European banks are fundamentally changing the way they structure and sell securitisations. A rise in bilateral trades and capital relief trades - which, along with increasing non-core asset disposals, is leading some to apply the special situations moniker to the sector - is largely being driven by regulatory changes.

    One of the main trends in European ABS over the last .......

    News Analysis 25 August 2016

  • Zero floor inserted

    Santander has amended the transaction documents for Bilkreditt 6, its 2014 Norwegian auto loan ABS, to ensure that the interest payable to noteholders is subject to a zero floor. The firm says that as a result of negative Euribor rates, there is a risk that the interest rate on the notes could fall below zero. It adds, however, that the .......

    News Round-up 24 August 2016

  • Willis ceo announced

    Willis Re has appointed Chris McDowell as ceo of Willis Re Bermuda. On 1 January 2017, he will officially succeed Michael Harden, who is being made president of Willis Re Asia Pacific.

    McDowell joins from Aon Benfield, where he was ceo of global re-specialty in Bermuda. He will now report with his team to Willis Re Specialty.

    Harden was former .......

    Job Swaps 24 August 2016

  • Fund advisers pay SEC charge

    A quartet of private equity fund advisors affiliated with Apollo Global Management have agreed to pay US$52.7m to settle US SEC charges that they misled fund investors about fees. Apollo has neither admitted nor denied supervisory failures, but has agreed to pay US$37.527m in disgorgement and interest.

    The SEC says the four advisors failed to adequately disclose the benefits they received, .......

    Job Swaps 24 August 2016
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