Complete news archive

  • Japanese RMBS approach updated

    Moody's is requesting feedback on a proposed update to its approach to rating Japanese RMBS. The proposed methodology follows an analysis of Japanese mortgage loan defaults over the past 30 years and aims to align the agency's approach with its global RMBS rating methodology, while taking into account the unique characteristics of the Japanese market.

    Moody's expects the proposed changes .......

    News Round-up 24 October 2014

  • Short-biased credit fund launched

    Cohanzick Management has launched the Nexus Fund, a long/short corporate credit strategy with a short bias. The fund will focus primarily on deteriorating or overvalued credits, as well as capital structure mispricing.

    The firm says that the most obvious opportunities at present are event-driven situations, in which corporate management seeks to benefit shareholders by taking advantage of the gap between .......

    News Round-up 24 October 2014

  • Euro ABS/MBS stay steady

    European ABS/MBS spreads held steady yesterday albeit in relatively quiet markets. More of the same is expected today, but all eyes are on a large liquidation BWIC on Tuesday.

    Currently buyers just edge it over sellers in both core and peripheral ABS/MBS bonds across secondary, with UK RMBS and Italian names seeing the most interest. However, there has been less .......

    SCIWire 24 October 2014

  • 'Minimal' risk for ECB

    The ECB is taking only minimal credit risk with the ABSPP, according to Fitch. This assessment is based on the programme's conservative eligibility criteria, especially the focus on senior bonds.

    As a hypothetical example, Fitch applied the same eligibility criteria to all Fitch-rated bonds that were outstanding at the onset of the credit crisis, based on a cut-off date of .......

    News Round-up 24 October 2014

  • Trups CDOs stabilise

    The US Trups CDO market has stabilised after last week's volatility and bid lists have been well-received.

    "The market has stabilised and in only a week we've seen the range of bids move back and forth 2-4 points," says one trader. "People were trying to buy in the dips, but they now realise as things move back to previous levels .......

    SCIWire 23 October 2014

  • FIG reshuffled

    Barclays' financial institutions group (FIG) has undergone a revamp, following the departure of former md Allen Appen to Lloyds earlier this month (SCI 15 October). Ben Davey will now solely head FIG in EMEA, having previously been co-head with Richard Boath. Boath has been appointed chairman for FIG in the same region, in an attempt to utilise his experience in .......

    Job Swaps 23 October 2014

  • Dynamic HY fund offered

    AXA Investment Managers has launched a new fund that aims to take advantage of recent market volatility by investing in US high yield bonds, with a credit derivatives overlay. The AXA WF US Dynamic High Yield Bonds Fund will invest in companies with solid business models and improving credit fundamentals.

    Fund manager Carl Whitebeck comments: "The fund's flexible approach will .......

    News Round-up 23 October 2014

  • BGC bid commences

    BGC Partners has gone ahead with its attempt to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of GFI Group, following an impasse in negotiations between the two companies. BGC currently owns 13.5% of GFI's shares and has now commenced an unsolicited tender offer of US$5.25 per share for the 86.5% it does not currently own.

    The terms remain unchanged from .......

    Job Swaps 23 October 2014

  • Euro CLO market looks forward

    A disconnect between bids and offers in the European CLO market has impacted secondary trading. A strong lineup of bid-lists early next week is expected to bring some clarity.

    "After the widening we saw last week, things have started to tighten back in this week. However, generically offers are staying high and bids have dropped, so we are not seeing .......

    Market Reports 23 October 2014

  • Backdating impact eyed

    The New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) has alleged that Ocwen backdated thousands of letters to borrowers relating to modifications and foreclosures. A large-scale disruption in servicing at the firm as a result of the move is unlikely, but the likelihood of a scenario that could have a significant effect on non-agency RMBS has increased, according to Barclays .......

    News 23 October 2014

  • Illiquid action

    The CDO and CLO markets are attracting plenty of sellers at the moment, particularly in illiquid bonds.

    "We're seeing a lot of selling in illiquid off-the-run assets - primarily ABS CDOs, Trups CDOs and distressed CMBS," says one trader. "It's the time of year where legacy portfolios are looking to square away their books and decide whether to lighten them .......

    SCIWire 23 October 2014

  • Legal dispute hits Creekside loan

    The US$25m Creekside Mixed Use Development loan, securitised in COMM 2014-UBS2, has become 60-days delinquent and entered foreclosure status. The loan was transferred to special servicing due to a legal dispute between the owner, Strathmore Development Co, and the loan trustee over unpaid reserve account funds.

    CMBS strategists at Deutsche Bank note that the property is performing solidly: it remains .......

    News Round-up 23 October 2014

  • Chinese auto ABS issuance to double

    Fitch expects Chinese auto loan ABS issuance to more than double to over CNY35bn in the next 12 months, due to funding needs driven by a rapidly expanding car sales market and the increasing penetration of captive auto finance companies. In particular, the agency believes that auto ABS will become entrenched in the funding profile of China-based foreign-owned auto finance .......

    News Round-up 23 October 2014

  • Non-agency RMBS settles down

    The US non-agency RMBS market has increasingly settled down over the last few days following last week's volatility and there is still plenty of liquidity to be had for now.

    "Broader markets have stabilised a bit this week," says one trader. "We've settled back into a normal trading pattern in non-agency and pricing levels have started to move back up."

    SCIWire 22 October 2014

  • Risk retention rules adopted

    The FDIC, OCC, Fed, SEC and HUD have adopted final rules for credit risk retention under section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule does contain a number of exemptions, notably qualified residential mortgages (QRM), but concerns have been raised about the impact on CLOs.

    Section 941 requires securitisers of ABS, including privately-placed issuances, to retain at least five percent of .......

    News Round-up 22 October 2014

  • US home prices stall

    US home price growth appears to have stalled, according to Fitch's latest quarterly index report. National home prices fell by less than one percent between 1Q14 and 2Q14. Whilst the decline is not substantial, the halt in prices represents a distinct contrast from results of the last two years. Between 4Q11 and 1Q14, home prices increased roughly 20% on a nationwide .......

    News Round-up 22 October 2014

  • Non-agency activity rises

    US non-agency RMBS bid-list volume climbed yesterday to around US$430m, largely driven by a spike in subprime supply. SCI's PriceABS data reveals strong execution for a range of pre-crisis tranches.

    The earliest available paper came from 2003-vintage deals, such as the AABST 2003-3 M2 tranche which was covered in the low/mid-90s. The tranche has appeared in .......

    Market Reports 22 October 2014

  • Another Trups mezz auction

    Another mezz Trups CDO BWIC has emerged for this week to complement the FDICs 12th auction on Thursday.

    The new 12 line $16.4m list is due at 13:30 New York time today. It consists of: ALESC 2A B1, ALESC 4A B3, ALESC 5A C2, ALESC 5A C3, ALESC 8A C1, ALESC 17A C1, TRAP 2003-2A C1, TRAP 2003-4A C2, TRAP 2003-5A C1, .......

    SCIWire 22 October 2014

  • Management overhaul widens Darden CDS

    Five-year CDS on Darden Restaurants widened 47% over the past month, putting them at levels not seen in over a year, according to Fitch Solutions. After pricing historically at double-B plus levels, credit protection on Darden's debt is now lowered slightly to double-B. Darden CDS also underperformed Fitch's North American Consumer Services CDS Index, which widened just 17% over the .......

    News Round-up 22 October 2014

  • Rating restrictions

    Sovereign caps impact investor options

    Recent rating agency criteria changes have re-focused attention on the European peripheral ABS markets. While all investors - including the ECB - will be affected, the importance attached to ratings varies.

    Fitch updated its Irish residential mortgage assumptions last month, paving the way for Irish RMBS to be rated at triple-A (SCI 22 September), while S&P updated its methodology for .......

    News Analysis 22 October 2014

  • Euro CLOs keep a low profile for now

    There's little on the European CLO BWIC schedule for the rest of this week yet, but there is a high volume of lists already in the pipeline for next week.

    The bulk of yesterday's European CLO BWICs came back as DNT, TRD or without any colour at all, but activity remained steady in the bilateral space with trades across the capital structure .......

    SCIWire 22 October 2014
×