Complete news archive

  • CDS notionals continue to decline

    The BIS has released OTC derivatives statistics at end-December 2012. The data shows that notional amounts for credit default swaps continued to decline last year, from US$26.9trn at end-June 2012 to US$25.1trn by year-end.

    This brought the cumulative reduction since end-June 2011 to US$7.3trn, partly due to the ongoing compression of contracts among dealers, the BIS says. In the second .......

    News Round-up 9 May 2013

  • US ABS still quiet, despite auto injection

    Secondary US ABS activity was once again fairly light yesterday, with auto paper dominating the session. BWIC volume reached around US$74m, with SCI's PriceABS data listing 18 line items for the sector.

    Among the auto names circulating yesterday were several Avis Budget Rental Car Funding tranches, including the AESOP 2011-1A A bond, which was talked in the 20s. .......

    Market Reports 9 May 2013

  • Wells notice disclosed

    RBS has disclosed in its 1Q13 Interim Management Statement that it received a Wells notice from the US SEC, informing it that the SEC staff is considering recommending the initiation of a civil or administrative action against RBS Securities Inc. According to a Lowenstein Sandler memo, the Wells notice arises out of an inquiry that the SEC staff began in .......

    Job Swaps 9 May 2013

  • MBIA ratings upgraded

    S&P has raised its financial strength rating on MBIA Insurance Corp to single-B from triple-C, with a stable outlook. At the same time, it raised its financial strength rating on National Public Finance Guarantee Corp to triple-B from double-B, credit watch positive. MBIA Inc's single-B minus long-term counterparty credit rating was also placed on credit watch positive.

    The rating action .......

    News Round-up 9 May 2013

  • Cat bonds set for record issuance

    US$520m of catastrophe bond issuance was offset by US$352.5m of maturities in 1Q13, resulting in an increase of US$4167.5m in risk capital outstanding, according to GC Securities. The firm expects the market this year to approach, if not exceed, the record for annual issuance of US$7bn set in 2007.

    This forecast is dependent on cat bond market pricing remaining stable .......

    News Round-up 9 May 2013

  • Spanish special servicer established

    Copernicus, a new Spanish special servicer, has been established to help clients deal with the country's distressed real estate assets. Copernicus uses an integrated technology platform to allow for the efficient management, follow-up and monitoring of assets.

    The servicer already manages property portfolios from three Spanish banks. Its offering covers the entire management cycle of property portfolios, ranging from the .......

    Job Swaps 9 May 2013

  • Low Euro CMBS repayments to continue

    Moody's expects the repayment rate for European CMBS loans maturing in 2Q13 to remain at the historically low levels seen during the first quarter. The repayment rate dropped to 29% in 1Q13 from 35% in 2012.

    "We base our expectations on the specific characteristics of the loans with original scheduled maturity dates in 2Q13 and Europe's weak macroeconomic outlook," says .......

    News Round-up 9 May 2013

  • Shelly Mac poised for issuance

    The US SEC has declared effective a shelf registration statement filed by Shellpoint Partners last October via its subsidiary depositor, Shellpoint Mortgage Acceptance (Shelly Mac). Shelly Mac may now issue public RMBS, with the shelf initially funded up to US$2bn of issuance capacity.

    Shellpoint says it intends to be a significant issuer of new issue RMBS, as well as helping .......

    News Round-up 9 May 2013

  • Capital markets quintet on the move

    A group of five partners from Dentons will leave the firm to join the capital markets practice of rival Alston & Bird. Four of the partners will be based in New York, with one in Washington DC.

    The Washington-based lawyer is Stephen Ornstein, who specialises in federal and state regulation of real estate, as well as residential and commercial mortgage .......

    Job Swaps 9 May 2013

  • LMI ratings reviewed

    S&P says that the ratings on some Australian and New Zealand prime RMBS could be affected by the outcome of its criteria review for rating insurance companies. The firms under review include some lenders' mortgage insurance (LMI) providers and reinsurers that play a role in providing LMI cover for housing loans.

    The LMI providers or reinsurers under observation that may .......

    News Round-up 9 May 2013

  • SFIG adds director, mulls permanent board

    The Structured Finance Industry Group (SFIG) has named Richard Johns as executive director. He will assume responsibility for leading the organisation and report to the board of directors, currently chaired by Reggie Imamura.

    Johns has more than 16 years of experience in the securitisation industry. He joins from Ally Financial, where he was md and head of global funding and .......

    Job Swaps 9 May 2013

  • Broker acquisition announced

    GFI Group has agreed to acquire certain assets of Phoenix Partners Group. It will take on around 32 brokers in New York and London as well as additional operational and management staff.

    Phoenix follows a hybrid credit business model, combining voice broking with electronic execution. It also provides equity services to a largely institutional, financial client base.

    .......

    Job Swaps 9 May 2013

  • Aussie boom

    Offshore interest returns as Australian RMBS picks up

    The Australian RMBS market is resurgent, with volumes already on course to surpass last year's. New issuance opportunities, improved pricing and increased offshore demand are all helping drive the market in what may be its busiest year since 2008.

    More than A$8bn of RMBS has been issued or marketed in the first four months of 2013, rapidly approaching the A$16.8bn .......

    News Analysis 9 May 2013

  • CMBS ticks tighter on rising supply

    Generic US CMBS secondary spreads were mostly unchanged yesterday, although legacy conduit AM and AJ tranches tightened slightly. BWIC volume was up to around US$344m, with SCI's PriceABS data showing 59 line items for the session.

    "CMBS spreads did not fluctuate a whole lot yesterday, but whatever movements did take place certainly tilted in the direction of more .......

    Market Reports 8 May 2013

  • Lebanese MBS closed

    BLC Bank and BSEC - Bemo Securitisation have closed a US$185m securitisation for Lebanese real estate company Solidere, constituting the largest-ever asset-backed issuance in the local capital markets. The transaction involves the establishment of a securitisation fund under Lebanese law for the purposes of liquidating at face value a portion of Solidere's land sales receivables portfolio.

    The deal comprises three .......

    News Round-up 8 May 2013

  • CLO redemption risks examined

    An unusual EOD notice has been issued for the Integral Funding CLO, after a scheduled optional redemption failed to complete on 15 April because of delays in the settlement of collateral sales. Although noteholders' risk of loss has not increased materially as a result, the experience highlights the small but non-trivial risk to CLO investors of relying on trustees' and .......

    News 8 May 2013

  • Multifamily liquidation plan outlined

    The court-appointed receiver for the estate of an alleged Ponzi scheme involving Management Solutions (SCI 14 February 2012) has released a new liquidation plan for a large portfolio of multifamily properties owned by the estate. The 34 properties include three loans securitised in CMBS 2.0 deals (accounting for US$30.8m), two loans securitised in legacy CMBS (US$10.7m) and four agency CMBS .......

    News Round-up 8 May 2013

  • Loan buy-backs benefit ZUNI RMBS

    The ZUNI 2006-OA1 transaction last month received a payment of about US$50m emanating from loan buy-backs and loss reimbursements. The pay-out equates to around 15% of the bonds outstanding (US$322m), making it one of the larger instances of RMBS loan-level repurchases in recent months, according to MBS analysts at Barclays Capital.

    The deal's PSA states that Thornburg (now bankrupt) is .......

    News Round-up 8 May 2013

  • Dodd-Frank bills put forward

    The US House Financial Services Committee has passed a number of derivatives-related bills aimed at clarifying and amending Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act. The bills seek to address cross-border, swaps push-out and end-user margin requirements.

    First, H.R. 1256 seeks to harmonise cross-border approaches by requiring the CFTC and SEC to jointly issue rules regarding cross-border application of Dodd-Frank. The .......

    News Round-up 8 May 2013

  • Unemployment weighs on Spanish housing

    Spain's unemployment rate is anticipated to average 27.5% this year and next, peaking at 28.5% in 1Q14. However, the lagging impact on the housing market means that mortgage delinquencies will continue to rise beyond then, according to Fitch.

    The depth of the Spanish recession means that unemployment is increasingly affecting 30- to 50-year-old higher-educated nationals on permanent contracts, who are .......

    News Round-up 7 May 2013

  • New Taurus CMBS nears

    Further details have emerged on Taurus 2013 (GMF1), the European multifamily CMBS that will refinance the WOBA mortgage loan, previously securitised within the Windermere IX and Deco XIV Pan Europe 5 transactions (SCI 30 April).

    Fitch has assigned preliminary ratings to the transaction, which comprises: €710m triple-A rated class A notes, €130m double-A class Bs, €120m single-A class Cs, €95m .......

    News Round-up 7 May 2013
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