Complete news archive

  • Euro CLOs stymied

    New issue activity is pulling focus away from the European CLO secondary market.

    "There's not much happening in secondary - we've only done a handful of trades this week," says one trader. "It's all about primary at the moment as we're in one of those windows in which new issues can price most easily and that's taking the focus away .......

    SCIWire 13 November 2015

  • EBA consults on CVA guidelines

    The EBA has launched a public consultation on guidelines for the treatment of CVA risk under the supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP), as well as a data collection exercise for the quantitative impact study (QIS) to calibrate threshold values. The public consultation runs until 12 February 2016 and the data collection exercise should be completed by 28 January 2016.

    News Round-up 13 November 2015

  • CLO credit quality drops

    In contrast to their European counterparts, the credit quality of US CLOs slipped during 3Q15, says Moody's. The agency believes the drop was due largely to woes among energy-sector corporate issuers.

    This is evident in the higher proportions of both collateral on review for downgrade and low-rated CLO assets. In addition, recovery rate expectations for US CLO collateral - particularly CLO 2.0s .......

    News Round-up 13 November 2015

  • DMS names SF chief

    DMS Offshore Investment Services has appointed Murray McGregor as global head of structured finance. He brings over 15 years of structured finance and asset finance experience and will also serve DMS as an independent director on the boards of structured finance vehicles, other special purpose entities and hedge funds.

    McGregor was previously structured finance and asset finance md at Citco .......

    Job Swaps 13 November 2015

  • Calpers sells off property funds

    Strategic Partners Fund Solutions, the secondary and private market fund solutions business of Blackstone, has agreed to acquire approximately US$3bn of global real estate funds interests from California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers). The sale is the largest to date by Calpers, representing 43 international and domestic funds from its non-strategic real estate portfolio.

    .......

    News Round-up 13 November 2015

  • PCC unveiled for ILS push

    The Government of Gibraltar has announced legislation that provides a new form of protective cell company (PCC), designed specifically for ILS. The new PCC regime will be regulated under Gibraltar's Insurance Companies (SPV) Regulations 2009.

    "When the SPV legislation was introduced in 2009, it permitted SPVs to be established but not for multiple transactions," says Michael Ashton, senior executive at .......

    News 13 November 2015

  • Euro ABS/MBS holds up

    Spreads are holding up in the European ABS/MBS secondary market despite broader market weakness.

    Riding off the back of reasonably strong performance in the primary market, secondary activity picked up a little yesterday and spreads held firm in most sectors. The return of appetite for Dutch prime continued and saw select names edge in.

    Meanwhile, Spanish and Italian paper continued .......

    SCIWire 13 November 2015

  • US RMBS eases

    Volumes and market sentiment are easing in the US non-agency RMBS secondary market as the week progresses.

    "It feels like a Monday following on from yesterday's holiday and certainly volumes are down for a Thursday," says one trader. "There's less than $300m in for the bid today, but we did have higher volume on Tuesday with over $800m on auction as .......

    SCIWire 12 November 2015

  • Stay protocol relaunches

    ISDA has relaunched its Resolution Stay Protocol to cover securities financing transactions (SFT). At launch, 21 major global banks have signed the protocol, adding three more to last year's count (SCI 14 November).

    The new protocol has again been developed in close coordination with the Financial Stability Board by an ISDA working group including buy- and sell-side market participants. A new SFT Annex .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2015

  • Public ratings up credit quality

    The substantial increase in the share of publicly rated collateral from rated pre-crisis European CLOs to their post-crisis counterparts is credit positive, reports Moody's. European CLO 2.0s have a 75% share in publicly rated collateral, in contrast to less than 25% in CLO 1.0s.

    "For the high yield market issuers that make up CLO 2.0 portfolios, we have observed that a high share of companies .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2015

  • Chinese disclosure rules weighed

    The recent announcement of new disclosure rules for consumer credit ABS in China will improve transparency and contribute to the development of the market, says Fitch. The disclosure rules were presented by the National Association of Financial Market Investors and are the fourth to be released by the regulatory organisation (SCI 22 October).

    Fitch warns that the disclosures still stop short .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2015

  • Amicus builds commercial group

    Amicus Finance is launching a commercial finance business dedicated to serving the small business and professional services communities. Amicus Commercial Finance will be led by John Wilde and David Hogg.

    Wilde and Hogg previously founded SME Invoice Finance, which was sold to Metro Bank two years ago. Amicus Commercial Finance aims to begin operating in January 2016 and will provide .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2015

  • Direct lender beefs up

    Comvest has recruited Colleen Gurda as vp, responsible for originating, structuring and managing investments for the firm's direct lending fund, Comvest Capital. She was previously a vp at Alcentra Capital Corporation, with responsibility for origination, transaction execution, due diligence and the monitoring of portfolio companies. Before that, Gurda was in the healthcare investment banking group at Barclays, where she worked .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2015

  • Credit assessment standards proposed

    The EBA, EIOPA and ESMA have jointly published two draft implementing technical standards (ITS) on credit assessments by external credit assessment institutions (ECAIs). The standards are intended to ensure sound credit assessments and thus contribute to financial stability in the EU.

    The standards are part of the EU Single Rulebook for banking and insurance. The supervisory bodies aim to ensure .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2015

  • Electronic trading units to merge

    Tullett Prebon is set to acquire ICAP's global hybrid voice broking and information business, including its associated technology and broking platforms, such as iSwap. Tullett Prebon intends to purchase the business in return for the issue of new shares in Tullett Prebon to a new holding company of the ICAP group (ICAP NewCo) and to ICAP's shareholders, representing in aggregate .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2015

  • FinTech partner named

    MNKS has appointed Basile Fémelat as partner, with a specific focus on finance, private equity, regulation and FinTech. He was previously senior associate and head of Baker & McKenzie's securitisation practice in Luxembourg, and before that was an associate at Bonn Schmitt Steichen.

    At MNKS, Fémelat is tasked with expanding the firm's range of services in the financial and corporate .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2015

  • Euro secondary slow

    As expected, yesterday was a slow day in the European securitisation secondary market and today has begun quietly.

    With the US and parts of Europe out yesterday liquidity thinned further across the secondary market and only patchy trading was seen. Nevertheless, tone remains broadly constructive and spreads were unchanged to slightly tighter into the close.

    Appetite for selected names across .......

    SCIWire 12 November 2015

  • Insurer capital 'credit positive'

    Moody's suggests that Conning's acquisition of Octagon Credit Investors (SCI 6 November) is credit positive for Octagon CLOs because Conning's financial support will help keep Octagon's CLO platform stable after US risk-retention rules go into effect in December 2016. The agency says that the purchase shows insurance companies can be a key provider of capital to enable manager compliance with .......

    News Round-up 11 November 2015

  • SMEs tap alternative funding

    Moody's expects bank lending to remain prevalent for SMEs, in line with broader disintermediation trends. The agency notes that mid-cap companies and SMEs are increasingly tapping a variety of alternative funding sources and debt instruments to diversify their funding.

    "SMEs have greater trouble than mid-caps in accessing bank funding because of the risks they entail," says Alain Laurin, associate md .......

    News Round-up 11 November 2015

  • New moniker for investment manager

    Pramerica Investment Management will change its name to PGIM from 4 January 2016. It is also launching PGIM Funds, a UCITS platform serving the UK and Europe.

    The firm's name-change coincides with the expansion of the business around the world and reflects its position as one of the world's largest asset managers, says the firm. Pramerica's businesses operate in 16 .......

    Job Swaps 11 November 2015

  • CBD price push continues

    Central business district (CBD) office continues to be the best-performing segment of Moody's/RCA Commercial Property Price Indices (CPPI) national all-property composite index. CBD prices rose 4.3% over the past three months.

    The CPPI rose 0.7% in September, with a 0.8% rise in the core commercial segment. Prices in non-major markets have now topped their pre-crisis peaks, mainly due to gains .......

    News Round-up 11 November 2015
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