Complete news archive

  • Italian valuation gap highlighted

    A decree formalising the Italian treasury's €200bn NPL plan (SCI 28 January) is expected shortly. Moody's suggests in its latest Credit Outlook publication that the proposed state guarantee will improve the rating and liquidity of the senior tranches, facilitating both the placement of the senior tranches with investors and the deconsolidation of bad loans from the books of Italian banks. .......

    News Round-up 2 February 2016

  • UKAR servicing transfer agreed

    Computershare has been appointed preferred supplier in the tender process to undertake the mortgage servicing activities of UK Asset Resolution (UKAR). The firm will now work with UKAR on an exclusive basis to finalise details over the coming months, with a view to agreeing binding contract terms. A dedicated team will concentrate on this next phase of work.

    The contract .......

    Job Swaps 2 February 2016

  • Risks weighed for modified RMBS

    The scheduled increase in interest rates on certain US RMBS-linked modified loans is seen by Moody's as a slight credit negative for the performance of the asset class. This is because after the step-up these loans will likely re-default at a higher rate than previously.

    The agency explains that modified subprime and alt-A loans with performance history of four to five years .......

    News Round-up 2 February 2016

  • Capital markets group beefs up

    Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has added to its capital markets group in New York with the addition of Chris Gavin as partner. His practice focuses on US and international structured finance transactions covering consumer and corporate debt, including residential mortgage loans.

    Gavin is expected to help develop the firm's global ABS bench, as well as serving clients on the non-agency RMBS .......

    Job Swaps 2 February 2016

  • Credit card comparison tool launched

    Fitch has launched Credit Card Compare, an Excel tool providing access to its surveillance and index data on North American credit card ABS transactions. Users can review the performance of US and Canadian credit card ABS transactions in comparison with Fitch's benchmark indices and macroeconomic indicators.

    The tool allows the comparison of transactions using performance measures such as delinquencies, charge-offs, .......

    News Round-up 2 February 2016

  • Delinquencies drop on StuyTown resolution

    The Trepp US CMBS delinquency rate plummeted by 82bp to 4.35% in January, driven by the resolution of the US$3bn Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village loan with no loss and a significant uptick in other loan resolutions. The rate is now 131bp lower than the year-ago level.

    The StuyTown resolution also helped the multifamily sector move from the worst performing property .......

    News Round-up 2 February 2016

  • CLO concerns 'beyond commodities'

    Focus on industry-wide commodity-related stress could overshadow defaults of isolated non-commodity issuers that are prevalent in US CLOs, says Fitch. Millennium Health, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November (SCI 10 November 2015), provides a recent example.

    Millennium Health was held in more than 50 Fitch-rated CLOs. The agency notes that its default was the main reason behind a .......

    News Round-up 2 February 2016

  • Brazil ABS reporting falls short

    Recent changes by Brazil's securities market regulator Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios to ABS performance reporting standards still lack a number of important features, Fitch warns. The breakdown of payment data could result in users continuing to underestimating delinquencies and losses.

    The changes are designed to improve standards that were initially implemented in 2011 with CVM Instruction 489. The amendments have added minor details .......

    News Round-up 2 February 2016

  • True lender status tested

    A recent US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania decision has highlighted once again the regulatory risks that the 'true lender' doctrine can create for internet-based lenders that partner with banks to establish exemptions from state consumer protection laws (SCI passim). In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Think Finance Inc case, the court declined to accept federal pre-emption .......

    News Round-up 2 February 2016

  • Euro secondary still slow

    It continues to be a slow start to the month for the European securitisation secondary market.

    "It was very quiet again yesterday," says one trader. "There was one Italian CMBS BWIC that traded well, but that aside very little happened in our market."

    The trader continues: "Today has started similarly quietly. It looks likely to be more of the recent .......

    SCIWire 2 February 2016

  • SCI Start the Week - 1 February

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

    Pipeline
    The pipeline was slightly quieter last week as fewer deals joined and fewer deals left. At the last count there were four new ABS, one new RMBS, three CMBS and a single CLO.

    The ABS were: US$112m Earnest Student Loan Program 2016-A; US$150m Nations Equipment Finance Funding III 2016-1; US$1bn Nissan Auto Receivables 2016-A Owner Trust; and US$500m .......

    News 1 February 2016

  • Catalonia law irks NPL buyers

    A new Catalonian law on housing emergencies could deter potential purchases of Spanish mortgage NPLs, suggests Moody's. As a result, the adverse effects of Catalonian law 24/2015 may see fewer NPLs included within RMBS pools.

    "Under the new law, private equity firms and hedge funds that buy NPL pools at high discounts could lose their benefit," says Alberto Barbáchano, a .......

    News Round-up 1 February 2016

  • AIMA calls for non-bank support

    AIMA has called on the European Commission to support non-bank financing and deeper capital markets as part of its regulatory review. The organisation says any rules should allow greater asset manager participation in securitisations, which would subsequently support the supply of finance to SMEs.

    The comments are in response to the Commission's call for evidence surrounding the EU regulatory framework for .......

    News Round-up 1 February 2016

  • MI analysis updated

    Morningstar Credit Ratings has published an updated methodology for US RMBS ratings, including an explanation of its analysis of mortgage insurance (MI) in RMBS. The move follows the release of an RFC in December (SCI 4 December 2015).

    The agency notes that while MI does not necessarily affect a borrower's probability of default, it may decrease loss severities. As such, .......

    News Round-up 1 February 2016

  • Defeasance activity remains strong

    Newly defeased loans in Fitch-rated US CMBS totalled US$3.6bn in 4Q15, compared to US$5.3bn in 4Q14. Overall, newly defeased loans totalled US$14.2bn last year, versus nearly US$20bn in 2014.

    The 4Q15 defeasance volume brings the total in Fitch-rated US CMBS deals to US$20bn - representing 5.2% of the agency's total outstanding universe - as of year-end 2015. Of this, US$9.7bn .......

    News Round-up 1 February 2016

  • Distressed credit vet tapped

    Black Diamond Capital Management has appointed Todd Arden as senior md and co-chief credit officer. He will have responsibility for co-managing Black Diamond's underwriting processes and credit exposures, as well as sourcing stressed and distressed investment opportunities for the firm's funds.

    Arden will be based in Black Diamond's Greenwich, Connecticut office, and brings over 20 years of experience in the .......

    Job Swaps 1 February 2016

  • ILS manager promotes two

    Elementum Advisors has promoted Paul Barker and Chris Cebula as portfolio managers. Barker has also been made principal by the ILS firm, having previously held roles as a catastrophe modelling analyst and portfolio management associate, where he focused on portfolio construction, hedging and analysis of collateralised reinsurance investments.

    Meanwhile, Cebula also moves up from being a portfolio management associate. He was previously .......

    Job Swaps 1 February 2016

  • Euro secondary quiet

    Month-end made for a relatively quiet session on Friday for the European securitisation secondary market and today is starting out in similar fashion.

    Despite limited activity secondary market tone remains broadly positive in line with improving wider credit. Prime assets are once again leading the way and spreads in the sector continue to edge in.

    At the same time Italian .......

    SCIWire 1 February 2016

  • CIFC sale considered

    CIFC has retained JPMorgan to assist it in exploring a range of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value and capitalise on its industry-leading platform. Such alternatives may include a sale of the company or the sale of a stake in the company to a strategic investor, with the objective of accelerating its growth and diversification initiatives.

    CIFC says it has .......

    Job Swaps 29 January 2016

  • Refinance SLABS debuts

    Online lender Earnest Operations is in the market with its inaugural rated term securitisation. The US$212m transaction, dubbed Earnest Student Loan Program 2016-A, is backed by refinanced student loans.

    DBRS has assigned provisional ratings to the ABS, which comprises US$34.71m single-A rated class A1 notes, US$70.24m single-A class A2s and US$7.05m triple-B class Bs. The trust will also issue a .......

    News Round-up 29 January 2016

  • ECR appoints sales director

    Euro Credit Risk (ECR) has appointed Angus Passmore as sales and marketing director. His experience includes working with SME lending organisations, utilising ABS facilities as part of the funding platform.

    Passmore's previous roles include a stint as vp at Quadrant Risk Management, promoting the use of enterprise risk data in banks and Basel 2 risk capital assessment. He also undertook advisory tasks in .......

    Job Swaps 29 January 2016
×