Complete news archive

  • Conduits benefitting from full support

    Moody's expects EMEA ABCP conduits to no longer be exposed to asset performance risk, as transactions financed by these conduits will almost exclusively be fully supported by liquidity support. The agency notes that the trend to fully supported transactions financed by EMEA ABCP has recently accelerated, with the conversion so far this year of two partially supported conduits - Scaldis .......

    News Round-up 31 July 2014

  • US ABS activity picks up

    After a slow start to the week, yesterday's session brought an increase in US ABS secondary market activity. BWIC volume climbed to US$184m as SCI's PriceABS data captured 28 unique US ABS tranches, including a number of auto and student names.

    A striking number of auto ABS tranches were making their first appearance in the PriceABS .......

    Market Reports 31 July 2014

  • ABS CDO on the block

    An auction has been scheduled for Margate Funding I on 19 August. The securities shall only be sold if the proceeds are greater than or equal to the auction call redemption amount. The collateral manager, although it may not have been the highest bidder, has the option to purchase the collateral (or any subpool) for a purchase price equal to .......

    News Round-up 31 July 2014

  • PSBC breaks Chinese RMBS drought

    Postal Savings Bank of China last week launched a CNY6.8bn RMBS, the first Chinese RMBS since 2007. SFIG notes that the move is designed to facilitate central government support for the faltering housing market, which saw sales drop by 9.2% during 1H14 and prices fall in 70 cities in June for the second straight month.

    The transaction comprised three tranches: .......

    News Round-up 31 July 2014

  • SEC urged to complete ABS reforms

    A group of twelve US Senators this week sent a letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White, pushing for the agency to finish four overdue reforms. The letter expresses concern about the slow pace of progress in putting "critical investor and systemic risk protections" related to securitisation in place, as set out in the Dodd-Frank Act.

    According to a recent .......

    News Round-up 31 July 2014

  • Methodology guidelines finalised

    Scope Ratings has finalised its methodology guidelines for rating and monitoring structured finance instruments, taking into account market comments and other feedback following the publication of a draft proposal. These guidelines provide the general framework for the development of in-depth methodologies. Scope plans to issue subsequent addenda to these guidelines in order to define its specific assumptions for rating structured .......

    News Round-up 31 July 2014

  • Strong secondary CLO supply

    The US CLO secondary market was busy yesterday, with SCI's PriceABS data capturing 62 unique US CLO tranches on bid-lists. Paper from the length of the capital stack was out for the bid and various vintages were represented.

    One of the more recently issued tranches was AMMC 2014-14A A1L, which was appearing in PriceABS for the first time. .......

    Market Reports 30 July 2014

  • CMBX differential 'too wide'

    Markit CMBX.6.BB reference obligation spreads have tightened by 135bp since the beginning of the year, while the index itself tightened by about half that. Consequently, the CMBS cash/synthetic basis has widened by over 70bp during that period and is now at its widest level since October 2013, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch figures. The basis has widened by .......

    News Round-up 30 July 2014

  • Regulatory compliance md added

    NewOak has expanded its presence in Washington, DC by appointing Anastasia Davis Stull as credit services md. She will take responsibility for business development and execution in the areas of regulatory compliance and risk management.

    Stull was previously a compliance director for Treliant Risk Advisors in New York, where her role included assisting clients with Dodd-Frank implementation. She has also .......

    Job Swaps 30 July 2014

  • CLO issuance hits highs

    US CLO new issuance finished 1H14 with the most active quarter since the inception of the market, Fitch reports. The agency notes that 65 deals totalling nearly US$37bn came to the market in 2Q14, bringing the total to 105 CLOs for US$57.6bn for the first half of the year. Additionally, US$2bn across four middle market CLOs was issued in the .......

    News Round-up 30 July 2014

  • CMBS leverage on track to match peak

    US conduit CMBS loan leverage is now growing at such a pace that by 2017 it will have returned to its 2007 peak, according to Moody's. Loan underwriting standards continue to loosen, with Moody's loan-to-value (MLTV) ratios for conduit loans now on track to match the peak of 118% MLTV, set almost exactly ten years ago.

    "We've been raising credit .......

    News Round-up 30 July 2014

  • Freddie debuts unusual CMBS

    Freddie Mac priced what is believed to be a first-of-a-kind CMBS last month. The US$393m FREMF 2014-KX01 comprised 20 loans that were removed from previous securitisation pools by Freddie Mac or at the request of a B-piece buyer.

    The transaction features a two-tranche structure consisting of US$334m class A notes (guaranteed by Freddie Mac) and US$59m class B notes (not .......

    News Round-up 30 July 2014

  • Cov-light activity highlighted

    Fitch expects the recent trend for larger covenant-lite buckets in European CLOs to continue, although it may be tempered by investor requests for rating constraints on their inclusion. Limited data make it hard to say conclusively that cov-lite loans are riskier than traditional leveraged loans, but limiting a manager's flexibility to invest in lower quality cov-lite loans could support transaction .......

    News Round-up 30 July 2014

  • Experts endorse settlement

    Independent experts consulted by RMBS trustees on the adequacy of JPMorgan's proposed settlement have made their recommendations public. Barclays Capital RMBS analysts note that the experts' opinions generally support accepting the settlement for a majority of deals.

    The cash payout as a ratio of expected lifetime losses in the JPMorgan settlement is significantly lower than was offered in other settlements .......

    News 29 July 2014

  • ABX severities to remain high

    Losses on the subprime RMBS pools backing the Markit ABX indices will not decline materially over the remaining lives of the deals, even though home prices continue to rise, according to Moody's latest ResiLandscape publication. The agency says that home prices are not climbing fast enough to offset the advance costs and other expenses that servicers will recoup when they .......

    News Round-up 29 July 2014

  • Servicer transfer practices examined

    A recent Moody's analysis shows that although the servicing transfer practices of Ocwen and Nationstar can disrupt cashflows through large volumes of modifications, the servicers have generally maintained consistent post-acquisition cash collections on their acquired subprime loans. Data from the rating agency's Servicer Dashboard publication also reveals that Ocwen and Nationstar have offset declining cashflows from short sales and liquidations .......

    News Round-up 29 July 2014

  • Court may boost super senior payments

    A pending court case could see the super senior certificate holders in MASTR Adjustable Rate Mortgages Trust (MARM) 2007-3 receive larger payments than a strict reading of the payment waterfall would allow, says Moody's in its latest ResiLandscape publication. The court case was filed last year to resolve a dispute between the super senior holders and Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp, .......

    News Round-up 29 July 2014

  • Settlement revisions 'RMBS positive'

    Revised settlement terms under Ambac Assurance Corp's rehabilitation plan are positive for the insured bondholders in 250 RMBS transactions, says Moody's in its latest ResiLandscape publication. The revisions will provide bondholders with higher cash payouts on their claims than had previously been allowed.

    The firm's rehabilitation plan became effective on 12 June. The revised settlement also applies uniform claim terms .......

    News Round-up 29 July 2014

  • Real estate investment leader added

    Strategic Partners Fund Solutions has appointed Mark Burton to lead it real estate secondaries practice. He will serve as a principal and oversee the firm's secondary real estate investment activities.

    Burton joins from H/2 Capital Partners, where he focussed on distressed commercial mortgage opportunities. Before that he spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, overseeing domestic CRE investing and lending.

    .......

    Job Swaps 29 July 2014

  • Gleacher dissolution confirmed

    Gleacher & Company has filed a certificate of dissolution with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware - as expected (SCI 21 July) - which became effective yesterday. The board of directors has also adopted a plan of distribution which authorises an initial liquidating distribution of US$4.05 per share of the company's common stock, for an aggregate amount .......

    Job Swaps 29 July 2014

  • Further fund abuse charge settled

    The US SEC has agreed a settlement with Peter Jenson, the former coo of Harbinger Capital Partners. Owner Philip Falcone and the firm itself both settled last year (SCI 20 August 2013).

    The SEC alleged that Jenson assisted a scheme to misappropriate millions of dollars from a hedge fund to pay Falcone's personal taxes. He has admitted wrongdoing and agreed .......

    Job Swaps 29 July 2014
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