Complete news archive

  • Spanish RMBS delinquencies up

    Severe delinquencies that last more than 90 days in Spanish RMBS peaked at 6.18% in 3Q14 following a decrease in 2Q14, according to S&P. The rating agency adds that high unemployment and low household income could offset positive macroeconomic indicators, thus constraining the RMBS sector's nascent recovery.

    S&P believes that economic growth prospects are now more positive as conditions have .......

    News Round-up 7 January 2015

  • Ellington portfolio acquired

    American Homes 4 Rent has acquired the Ellington Housing Single-Family portfolio. The company paid approximately US$126m for the portfolio, comprised of approximately US$74.4m of cash and the assumption of approximately US$51.6m of debt that matures on 1 July 2019 and bears interest at 4.055% per year.

    This follows the completion of several transactions last year as the SFR securitisation market .......

    News Round-up 7 January 2015

  • Russian RMBS ratings rethought

    Ongoing economic sanctions against Russia are affecting RMBS, with Moody's downgrading the ratings of the senior tranches in four domestic RUB-denominated Russian RMBS transactions. The rating agency has also put on review for downgrade the ratings of Red & Black Prime Russia MBS No.1.

    The downgrades are a result of the agency's decision to lower Russia's foreign currency bond ceiling .......

    News Round-up 7 January 2015

  • SEC targets RMBS fraudsters

    The SEC has charged VERO Capital and the firm's president, Robert Geiger, general counsel, George Barbaresi, and chief financial officer, Steven Downey. The agency has accused them of secretly diverting investor money for their own benefit to prop up a side business.

    The SEC says the firm and its three officers managed a pair of funds whose offering documents indicated .......

    News Round-up 7 January 2015

  • Ocwen settlement 'credit neutral'

    Ocwen Financial's recent US$150m settlement with the NYDFS (SCI 23 December 2014) is credit neutral for RMBS transactions that the firm services, says Moody's. The firm's servicing is expected to improve as a result of the settlement's conditions, while servicing costs may increase and transactions with high New York state concentration could face longer foreclosure timelines, thus reducing recoveries on .......

    News Round-up 7 January 2015

  • Variations in loan mod losses

    US RMBS servicers are not uniformly reporting losses associated with principal forbearance loan modifications, according to Fitch. The agency says the timing of realised loss reporting can vary, often being reported at the time of the modification, but sometimes at the time of liquidation.

    Fitch estimates that roughly 1,500,000 private label RMBS loans were modified between June 2009 and June .......

    News Round-up 7 January 2015

  • Euro ABS/MBS picks up positively

    Activity in the European ABS/MBS secondary market is finally beginning to pick up with a slightly positive tone emerging today.

    "It's been relatively quiet since the New Year, but it was a little busier yesterday," says one trader. "We've been somewhat insulated from the broader market volatility over the last few days, but ABS spreads have been softer."

    That looks .......

    SCIWire 7 January 2015

  • CMBS delinquencies down

    The delinquent unpaid balance for US CMBS fell to US$30.92bn in November, says Morningstar. This is down 3.5% from the prior month and 25.79% from a year ago.

    Meanwhile, liquidations, at US$775.6m across only 70 loans, experienced an average loss severity of 40.58%. This is significantly lower than the US$1.3bn in liquidations by balance across 83 loans in October, which .......

    News Round-up 24 December 2014

  • NCUA files Wells Fargo suit

    The NCUA has filed suit in federal court against Wells Fargo, alleging the bank violated state and federal laws by failing to fulfil its duties as trustee for 27 RMBS trusts. The agency is suing in its capacity as liquidating agent for five failed corporate credit unions and has previously filed suit against several other trustees (SCI passim).

    The five .......

    Job Swaps 24 December 2014

  • AQR adds underwriter

    Chris Conway has joined AQR as an underwriter for the firm. He will focus on underwriting international retrocession and catastrophe reinsurance business.

    Conway has held positions at Axis Specialty and, more recently, Third Point, where he was an underwriter and head of risk analytics. He will report to AQR's chief underwriting officer, Martin Vezina.

    .......

    Job Swaps 24 December 2014

  • Hiring logjam?

    Waiting game leaves recruitment on hold

    Recruitment in the structured finance space remains somewhat stagnant. While market players await regulatory clarity in the US, positive sentiment in Europe is yet to translate into increased hiring activity.

    The European securitisation market has provided a mixture of both disappointment and rational caution in terms of hiring trends, according to one London-based headhunter. "The market may not have picked .......

    News Analysis 24 December 2014

  • US RMBS looks for a spark

    The US non-agency RMBS market is quiet today, but could still spark back into life despite year-end looming.

    "We've been pretty quiet yesterday and today, even with today's economic news," says one trader. "The revision upwards of Q3 GDP has driven activity in broader markets and pulled high yield tighter, but RMBS is not seeing a major impact."

    A small .......

    SCIWire 23 December 2014

  • US CLO trend emerging

    US CLOs are seeing an even quieter day today than yesterday, but there are already signs of a potential trend for next year.

    "Yesterday's list got really good participation," says one trader. "But we're down to a one line list today, so the holidays have finally arrived."

    Today's list is an $8.5m slice of SYMP 2007-3A C due at 11:30 .......

    SCIWire 23 December 2014

  • Call for clarity

    Transparency at the forefront of CRA debate

    Panellists at SCI's recent London conference discussed the implications of credit rating agency (CRA) regulation in Europe. While they welcomed the increased competition and transparency brought by CRA 3, some issues remain outstanding.

    Andrew Currie, md of structured finance at Fitch, believes that CRA regulation has not been the biggest driver of the way rating agencies are managed. "The financial .......

    Talking Point 23 December 2014

  • Agency updates Japan RMBS methodology

    S&P has updated its methodology and assumptions for rating Japanese RMBS transactions. The agency's new criteria aims to increase the comparability of RMBS ratings globally and across sectors.

    The criteria will become effective as of 5 January 2015 for all new and existing ratings on Japanese RMBS, including securitisations of condominium investment loans and apartment loans. Outstanding, rated Japanese RMBS .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2014

  • SLABS defaults, delinquencies drop

    US private student loan (PSL) defaults dropped below 2.5% for the first time since 2006 and will remain at pre-recession levels, according to Moody's. The default index fell to 2.4% in 3Q14 - continuing a two and a half year decline - while the 90-plus delinquency rate index remained at its historic low of 1.9%.

    "The loans backing 2010-14 securitisations .......

    News Round-up 23 December 2014

  • Ocwen settles NY charges

    Ocwen Financial has reached a settlement with the NYDFS to address its violations of a consent order issued by the regulator in 2012, as well as various violations of its agreement with the regulator in connection with its purchase of Litton Loan Servicing in 2011. There should be no direct impact on non-agency RMBS but certain ABS payments could be accelerated.

    News 23 December 2014

  • ILS manager moves

    Wilmington Trust has hired Robert Bilodeau as a senior relationship manager in its insurance collateral solutions group. His appointment follows those of Robert Quinn and Todd Winchel last month (SCI 17 November) and he will play a key role in trust agreement negotiations, due diligence acquisition and transaction administration.

    Before joining Wilmington Trust, Bilodeau was relationship and product manager in .......

    Job Swaps 23 December 2014

  • Taberna manager replaced

    TP Management has replaced Taberna Capital Management as collateral manager for both Taberna Preferred Funding VIII and IX. Moody's (which rates both of the deals) and Fitch (which rates the latter) say there will be no impact on the rating of either Trups CDO.

    For other recent CDO manager transfers, see SCI's database.

    .......

    Job Swaps 22 December 2014

  • Texas house prices surge

    Texas has surpassed California and now has the most overvalued housing market in the US, says Fitch. However, falling energy prices are likely to put pressure on house prices.

    After largely avoiding the excesses and downsides of the last housing boom, significant recent growth has made Fitch cautious on the Texan housing market. The agency says that fundamentals do not .......

    News Round-up 22 December 2014

  • CMBS maturity spike expected

    US CMBS loan maturities will spike in 2Q15 following a measured start to the year, says Fitch. The agency notes US$3.7bn of US CMBS loans in Fitch-rated transactions are scheduled to mature in 1Q15, jumping to US$9.7bn in 2Q15 and to US$12bn in each of 3Q15 and 4Q15.

    In addition, US$64.6bn worth of loans in 2016 is expected to mature, .......

    News Round-up 22 December 2014
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