Complete news archive

  • US CLOs firm further

    Yesterday's positive moves in the US CLO secondary market have continued into today.

    "There's definitely a firmer tone - things feel tighter across the board," says one trader. "Today's lists are trading well and we're now seeing sellers testing that strength."

    Activity continues to revolve around the double-A to double-B section of the capital stack. "We're not really seeing any equity, .......

    SCIWire 25 February 2015

  • Italian prepays to rise

    Increased competition in the Italian mortgage market is likely to raise prepayment rates and make the renegotiation of mortgage terms more common, Fitch reports. Data from banking credit information company, CRIF, shows new residential mortgage originations in Italy increased 15% year-over-year in the first nine months of 2014.

    Fitch says the rise in originations is largely due to a surge in .......

    News Round-up 25 February 2015

  • Tourism boost for SME ABS

    With the weakness of the euro and prevailing low oil prices, tourism in Spain should continue on an upward performance trajectory in 2015. Moody's suggests that this could provide positive credit effects for SMEs and SME ABS transactions.

    "Any growth in tourism, which we do expect in 2015 following record numbers in 2014, will directly benefit SME and micro companies .......

    News Round-up 25 February 2015

  • Total return ETF debuts

    State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) and DoubleLine Capital have partnered to launch the SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (TOTL), which has begun trading on the NYSE Arca. TOTL is the first actively managed ETF to offer investors access to DoubleLine's investment research process.

    The core fixed income strategy seeks to maximise total return over a full market cycle by .......

    News Round-up 25 February 2015

  • ABS trader switches banks

    Marshall Insley has joined Credit Suisse to co-lead ABS trading for the bank with Ted Moran. Insley arrives from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and will begin working for the firm in May. Along with Moran, Insley will report to Bryan Chin, global head of securitised products for Credit Suisse.

    .......

    Job Swaps 25 February 2015

  • Board promotion at Blackstone

    Blackstone has appointed Bennett Goodman to its board of directors. Goodman is a co-founder of GSO Capital Partners, which currently manages over US$70bn in various direct lending strategies, leveraged loan vehicles and distressed investment funds. He also currently sits on the firm's management committee.

    .......

    Job Swaps 25 February 2015

  • Chief economist named

    Radian Group has appointed Clifford Rossi as svp and chief economist for the firm. In this position, Rossi is responsible for research, forecasts, quantitative analysis and financial modeling of Radian's mortgage insurance portfolio and the housing and mortgage markets.

    Rossi is currently an executive in residence and professor at the Robert H Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, a .......

    Job Swaps 25 February 2015

  • Euro ABS/MBS keeps active

    The European ABS/MBS secondary markets continue to be active across an increasing range of sectors.

    "Yesterday was busy again especially in prime, but we're seeing good two-way flows across a growing number of well-supported markets," says one trader. "That continues to involve Dutch and UK prime and Italian RMBS, but we're also seeing increased activity in UK non-conforming, where real .......

    SCIWire 25 February 2015

  • RadioShack exposure gauged

    RadioShack has outlined a list of almost 1800 stores that it intends to close due to its bankruptcy (SCI 11 February), including 191 properties across 130 US CMBS backed by 185 loans with a balance of approximately US$2.4bn. However, Barclays Capital CMBS analysts note that the allocated loan balance of the properties is US$940m, with only US$33m of the properties .......

    News Round-up 25 February 2015

  • First investment for margin start-up

    llluminate Financial Management has invested in CloudMargin, marking its first investment in a fintech firm since it was launched last year by Mark Beeston, who previously managed ICAP's post-trade risk and information division. Illuminate's investment is the only institutional funding completed by CloudMargin - a collateral and risk management technology platform - as it eyes the next phase of its .......

    Job Swaps 25 February 2015

  • Supply and demand for US CLOs

    After a quiet day yesterday the US CLO secondary market has picked up today with a healthy number of BWICs circulating and quite a few already scheduled for tomorrow.

    "The market is benefitting from a positive tone following on from last week and activity in primary," says one trader. "We're seeing 29 bonds on BWIC today with a good distribution .......

    SCIWire 24 February 2015

  • ABS syndicate head named

    Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired Tristan Cheesman as head of ABS syndicate for EMEA. He will report to Greg Petrie, head of EMEA structured finance origination.

    Cheesman arrives from JPMorgan, where he was vp for its securitised products group syndicate. He has also worked in ABS syndicate and trading for Commerzbank, as well as holding roles at Dresdner .......

    Job Swaps 24 February 2015

  • Unconstrained bond fund launched

    T Rowe Price has launched a global unconstrained bond fund, which is designed to help long-term investors navigate fixed income markets. The fund will be managed by Arif Husain, head of international fixed income and co-manager for the firm's international bond fund and institutional international bond strategies.

    The fund seeks to offer some protection against rising rates, with a low .......

    News Round-up 24 February 2015

  • Rate cut effects examined

    Moody's says the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision to cut the official cash rate by 0.25% to a record low of 2.25%, which mortgage lenders have passed on to borrowers, brings mixed benefits for the country's RMBS sector. The decrease is positive for existing RMBS as it means lower repayment amounts for home loan borrowers, but is negative for .......

    News Round-up 24 February 2015

  • ILS exec hired

    CGSC North America has hired William Ludington as evp for carrier management and alternative markets. His role includes developing partnerships and new business opportunities by accessing alternative sources of insurance capital via structured products, such as catastrophe bonds and ILS.

    Ludington will also provide carriers with a point of contact for strategic partnership opportunities related to the US$2.5bn in premium .......

    Job Swaps 24 February 2015

  • Synthetic CDO notes tendered

    Mizuho Bank has launched a tender offer for the six outstanding tranches of notes issued by Proventus European ABS CDO. The firm says the offer is aimed at supporting its strategy to optimise its financial structure and strengthen its balance sheet by purchasing the notes at below their par value. At the same time, the offer enables noteholders to exit .......

    News Round-up 24 February 2015

  • Asset finance firm acquired

    Amicus Finance has acquired Norton Folgate Capital Group, including Norton Folgate Capital Consulting, for an undisclosed sum. Amicus has secured an initial stake of 75% in Norton Folgate Capital Consulting, with the remaining 25% being held by the incumbent partners.

    Amicus says it has committed significant working capital and resources to build the Norton Folgate business over the next five .......

    Job Swaps 24 February 2015

  • California probe revealed

    Goldman Sachs has disclosed in its 2014 Form 10-K that, as part of the RMBS Working Group investigation, it received a letter in December from the US Attorney for the Eastern District of California in connection with a potential civil action. The letter states that the AG had preliminarily concluded that the firm had violated federal law in connection with .......

    Job Swaps 24 February 2015

  • MSR sale agreed

    Ocwen Loan Servicing has signed an agreement in principle to sell to Nationstar Mortgage residential mortgage servicing rights on a portfolio consisting of approximately 81,000 performing loans owned by Freddie Mac with a total principal balance of approximately US$9.8bn. Subject to a definitive agreement and approvals by Freddie Mac and the FHFA, the transaction is expected to close by 31 .......

    News Round-up 24 February 2015

  • BWICs drive European secondary

    BWICs held sway once more in European secondary markets yesterday as spreads ground ever tighter and today looks set to be similar.

    "We saw seven lists yesterday afternoon and they all traded well," says one trader. "Greece continues to dominate the broader market, but ABS remains insulated from the volatility and the tone continues to be stable and strong on .......

    SCIWire 24 February 2015

  • Game changer

    Resolution regulation to transform covered bond approach?

    Scope Ratings has dubbed the implementation of the European Resolution and Recovery Directive and similar regimes in other European countries as a "game changer" for the covered bond market. The improved credit characteristics and lower probability of default for covered bonds have been reflected in the agency's proposed new rating methodology for the sector, as a result.

    In its proposed .......

    News Analysis 24 February 2015
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