Complete news archive

  • CMBS vet takes leadership role

    Situs has named md Andrew Serling as head of its registered investment advisor, Ranieri Partners Asset Management. He will provide strategic direction for Ranieri and present Situs with business development opportunities as they pertain to CMBS bond investors.

    Serling has more than 20 years of experience in real estate capital markets and investments and has previously worked at Berkadia Commercial .......

    Job Swaps 11 February 2014

  • ABS CDO on the block

    An auction has been scheduled for RFC CDO II on 3 March. The collateral shall only be sold if the proceeds are greater than or equal to the redemption amount.

    .......

    News Round-up 10 February 2014

  • WACC guidance weighs on water ratings

    S&P notes that new regulatory guidance could bring rating stress for UK water utilities. Water sector regulator Ofwat recently offered new lower guidance on allowed weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) for the 2015-2020 regulatory period, which is expected to impact utilities' business plans by eroding cashflows. Some companies may therefore rework their plans to include mitigating measures.

    To encourage competition .......

    News Round-up 10 February 2014

  • Stable outlook for Canadian SF

    S&P expects Canadian consumer ABS credit ratings to remain stable in 2014, despite the likelihood of moderate deterioration in underlying collateral performance. The agency believes that new issuers will balance the lack of upcoming maturities from existing ABS issuers, with total issuance volume remaining at around C$11.5bn - split among credit card ABS (C$6bn), auto and equipment ABS (C$2bn), CMBS .......

    News Round-up 10 February 2014

  • SCI Start the Week - 10 February

    A look at the major activity in structured finance over the past seven days

    Pipeline
    The pace of deals joining the pipeline continued to quicken last week. At the close of Friday, four new ABS, one CMBS and five CLOs had been added.

    The newly-announced ABS comprised: US$1bn Fifth Third Auto Trust 2014-1, US$231m JGWPT 2014-1, Manchester Airport Group Funding and US$1bn Nissan Auto Receivables 2014-1 Owner Trust. The CMBS entrant was US$1bn .......

    News 10 February 2014

  • UK debt firms to combine

    Cabot Credit Management (CCM) has agreed to acquire Marlin Financial Group for £295m. The acquisition combines CCM's consumer debt expertise with Marlin's specialised debt buying capabilities.

    Combining the firms' core strengths, CCM and Marlin will expand their ability to grow revenues across a range of debt types. The combined company also expects to create further operational efficiencies by applying industry .......

    Job Swaps 10 February 2014

  • Legacy, new issue metrics diverging

    Legacy US CMBS market metrics continued improving last quarter, while several key indicators for new issuance trended negatively, according to Fitch's latest quarterly index for the sector. CMBS delinquencies fell by nearly 60bp last quarter and two percentage points on the year.

    "The continued steady pace of loan resolutions should position CMBS delinquencies to finish 2014 below 4%," comments Fitch .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • Servicer rankings released

    The Mortgage Bankers Association has released its year-end ranking of commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer volumes. At the top of the list as of 31 December is Wells Fargo, with US$434.4bn in US master and primary servicing, followed by PNC Real Estate/Midland Loan Services with US$369.6bn, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage with US$235.4bn, KeyBank National Association with US$169.7bn and GEMSA Loan Services .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • Lack of supply hits Euro CMBS

    Activity has slowed in the European secondary CMBS market as paper has become harder to come by. While demand remains strong and a number of BWICs have circulated, the search for supply has led to the return of OWICs in the market.

    "There has been less buying interest from clients this week and the market has been quieter. We have .......

    Market Reports 7 February 2014

  • MFDRA expiration to pressure recoveries

    The recently expired tax relief provided by the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act (MFDRA) may lead to modestly negative pressure on liquidation timelines and recoveries for legacy US RMBS if it is not renewed, Fitch warns. The tax relief expired on 1 January, creating larger tax burdens for underwater borrowers who receive some form of mortgage debt forgiveness. If the .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • MS CMBS vet moves on

    Jim Chung has joined Bridge Investment Group Partners as cio for the ROC Debt Strategies Fund. He is based in New York and will focus on CMBS, having previously spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley.

    .......

    Job Swaps 7 February 2014

  • MBS funds outperform

    Hedge fund performance was negative in January, falling by an average of 0.6%, according to eVestment figures. However, the industry broadly outperformed global equity markets in what was a very difficult month, driven by increased uncertainty in emerging markets.

    Credit strategies also posted negative returns in January, the second month in the last six where performance was down. Directional strategies .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • RFC issued on Canadian ABCP

    The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has published for comment proposed amendments relating to the short-term debt prospectus exemption in its 'National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions' rule. The proposals include: a new prospectus exemption designed to address the prospectus-exempt distribution of short-term securitised products, primarily ABCP; and amendments to the short-term debt prospectus exemption to address the prospectus-exempt distribution .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • CMBS pay-offs drop

    The percentage of US CMBS loans paying off on their balloon date stood at 71.3% in January, according to Trepp. This marks the second straight month in which the rate declined - from 76.5% in December and 81.3% in November - and is slightly above the 12-month moving average of 68.3%.

    By loan count as opposed to balance, 63.2% of .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • Swaps data portal unveiled

    ISDA has launched ISDA SwapsInfo, a portal that aims to enhance transparency in the OTC derivatives markets by pulling together in one place publicly available data on interest rate derivatives and credit default swaps. The data is available in a consistent format and the resulting consolidated time series are easy to download and analyse.

    For CDS, the website allows for .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • CLO non-loan assets reviewed

    In order to provide clarity on the extent to which CLOs hold non-loan assets, S&P has reviewed its rated US CLO portfolio to gauge their exposure to these assets. The agency examined 640 of the 705 CLO transactions outstanding as of year-end 2013. The remaining 65 deals were not effective or did not begin issuing their monthly reports by then.

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • MSR purchase on hold

    At the request of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ocwen has agreed to put an indefinite hold on its purchase from Wells Fargo of mortgage servicing rights on a portfolio consisting of approximately 184,000 loans with a total principal balance of US$39bn. The servicer says it will continue to work closely with the DFS to "resolve its .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • Settlement payments materialising

    Settlement payments from two mortgage insurers were reflected in last month's US RMBS remittances.

    First, FGIC-wrapped RFC and GMAC RMBS bonds received payments as subsequent recoveries. These payments were part of the settlement between FGIC and the Rescap estate, wherein FGIC agreed to pay US$253.3m to trusts with FGIC-wrapped bonds.

    All FGIC policies on these bonds are now terminated and .......

    News Round-up 7 February 2014

  • Status quo?

    Credit derivative reforms only a 'partial solution'

    The adoption of central clearing and trade repositories has increased transparency and liquidity across the credit derivatives market. However, concerns remain over concentration risk and the perceived dominance of dealers.

    Historically, a handful of dealers controlled about 80% of the credit derivatives market. While the introduction of trade repositories and central clearing are positive developments for the sector, they are .......

    News Analysis 7 February 2014

  • Larger loans set for liquidations

    US CMBS special servicers are anticipated to increase the rate at which they liquidate loans over the coming months before interest rates rise. Whereas the focus has been on liquidating smaller-balance loans over the last several years, special servicers are now expected to begin selling larger loans with greater regularity.

    CMBS analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch suggest that .......

    News Round-up 6 February 2014

  • STACR approach refined

    Freddie Mac is in the market with its first risk-sharing transaction of the year. The US$600m STACR 2014-DN1 notes transfer more risk by selling higher into the capital structure compared to the 2013 transactions.

    The non-rated bond offered to investors is the same thickness as previous deals, but the 2014 triple-B tranche is roughly 50bp thicker, according to Bank of .......

    News Round-up 6 February 2014
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