Complete news archive

  • Negative rating transitions 'less pervasive'

    Credit quality for global structured finance securities fell for the sixth consecutive year in 2012, again led by US RMBS, S&P reports. But downgrades were less pervasive and, with marginally improving global economic prospects and easing risks, the agency expects 2013 to mark a turning point for more stable credit performance.

    Going forward, S&P anticipates overall downgrade and default rates .......

    News Round-up 2 April 2013

  • RFC issued on affordable housing criteria

    S&P is requesting comments on its proposed methodology for rating US municipal affordable multifamily housing bond transactions. The proposed methodology will cover bonds supported by unenhanced affordable housing projects, federally subsidised projects and privatised military housing projects, as well as bonds backed by multifamily loan pools.

    The proposed criteria would affect no more than 450 rated issues, comprising about 160 .......

    News Round-up 2 April 2013

  • RMBS servicer transfers analysed

    A research report published by Opera Solutions argues that transferring US RMBS portfolios to new servicers is working. The study shows that new acquirers more actively manage their portfolios, resulting in faster liquidations and better performance on modified loans. It indicated increased stability in the RMBS market overall.

    The study follows 12 banks and loan servicers from both sides of .......

    News Round-up 2 April 2013

  • FFELP SLABS criteria enhanced

    Fitch has published a new criteria report, which supersedes its previous criteria report on rating US FFELP student loan ABS. The major enhancements are a shortened duration of basis spike for monthly reset Libor notes under a AAA/AA scenario and updated basis stresses based on market data, as of December 2012.

    When developing basis stresses, Fitch takes into consideration the .......

    News Round-up 2 April 2013

  • Pair join new credit manager

    Gibran Mahmud and Kurt Plumer have joined the newly-formed Triumph Capital Advisors, which has been launched by Triumph Bancorp. The new firm's initial strategy for growth will be to focus on CLO issuance.

    Mahmud will serve as senior md and cio and Plumer will serve as md and portfolio manager. Triumph ceo Aaron Graft will serve as chairman of the .......

    Job Swaps 2 April 2013

  • ISDA DC compositions confirmed

    The constituents of the latest ISDA Determinations Committees (DC) have been confirmed. Each of the five regional DCs includes 10 voting dealers and five voting non-dealer members.

    The voting dealers for all regions will be: Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Barclays; Citibank; Deutsche Bank; Goldman Sachs; JPMorgan Chase; Morgan Stanley; and UBS. The voting non-dealers for all regions will be: .......

    Job Swaps 2 April 2013

  • IOSCO makes leadership changes

    IOSCO has named Greg Medcraft as chairman of its board, succeeding Masamichi Kono. Howard Wetston has replaced Ethiopis Tafara as vice chair.

    Medcraft is also chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. He was previously ceo at the Australian Securitisation Forum and global head of securitisation at Société Générale.

    .......

    Job Swaps 2 April 2013

  • CMBS structuring proposals put forward

    A recent open letter from a group of European CMBS investors has largely echoed the CRE Finance Council's (CREFC) CMBS 2.0 proposals published last year. However, while the CREFC's proposals largely look to strike a compromise between market factions, the open letter is far more focused on investors' interests.

    Key differences concern information and disclosure, revenue extraction, servicers and special .......

    News 28 March 2013

  • SAECURE surprise for Euro RMBS

    This week's SAECURE 13 deal seems to have caught many European RMBS traders by surprise, coming out of the blue in an otherwise pretty quiet week. The market has held fairly steady over the last few weeks as supply remains low, although developments in Cyprus have had an effect.

    "In the prime RMBS space we are seeing very small movements. .......

    Market Reports 28 March 2013

  • Airline merger ABS impact 'minimal'

    The US$11bn merger of American Airlines' parent AMR Corporation with US Airways Group should have a minimal impact on the co-branded credit card ABS issued by their related institutions, says Fitch. The agency notes there may be decreased card utilisation or performance deterioration in the related receivables that may be driven by shifts in consumer behaviour as a result of .......

    News Round-up 28 March 2013

  • Derivatives, CLO pro joins SIFMA

    Matt Nevins has joined SIFMA as md and associate general counsel within the asset management group (AMG). He joins from Fidelity Investments, where was vp and associate general counsel.

    Nevins has served as chairman of the SIFMA AMG derivatives committee for the last two years. In his new position he will focus on facilitating AMG's advocacy efforts on regulatory reform .......

    Job Swaps 28 March 2013

  • ABCP programmes affirmed

    Fitch's annual US ABCP review has resulted in 25 programmes being affirmed. The review, based on December 2012 issuer information, covered approximately US$124bn in outstandings.

    The affirmations are all based on a review of the conduits' portfolio compositions and the vehicles' credit and structural protections, such as transaction-specific and programme-wide credit and liquidity support. Fitch mainly analysed exposures to - .......

    News Round-up 28 March 2013

  • Card delinquencies 1bp off all-time low

    The US credit card delinquency rate ticked down 3bp in February to 2.29%, just a single basis point higher than its all-time low (SCI 28 January). Moody's Credit Card Index shows securitised credit card charge-offs increased to 3.93%, 5bp higher than January's post-crisis low.

    There was a new all-time low for early-stage delinquencies, which are defined as 30 to 59 .......

    News Round-up 27 March 2013

  • Japanese rating upgrades outnumber downgrades

    Japanese structured finance securities rating upgrades outnumbered downgrades in 2012, reports S&P. The agency raised 18.64% and lowered 9.58% of its outstanding ratings, with the ratio of upgrades to downgrades improving markedly from 2011.

    The downgrade rate was actually consistently higher than the upgrade rate from 2008 until 2010, but that pattern reversed in 2011. The upgrade rate again exceeded .......

    News Round-up 27 March 2013

  • Second CRA takes MBIA action

    Moody's has placed on review for downgrade the ratings of 148 classes of US structured finance securities wrapped by MBIA Insurance Corporation and its affiliated insurance companies. The securities impacted include certain RMBS, ABS and CDOs.

    S&P recently lowered ratings on a raft of RMBS insured by MBIA (SCI 18 March) and Moody's placed the ratings of MBIA Corp itself .......

    News Round-up 27 March 2013

  • EC antitrust probe eyes ISDA

    The European Commission has extended its CDS information investigation to include ISDA's role in the market. The Commission says its inquiry has found preliminary indications that ISDA may have been involved in a coordinated effort of investment banks to delay or prevent exchanges from entering the credit derivatives business.

    Such behaviour would stifle competition in the internal market and thus .......

    News Round-up 27 March 2013

  • Basel Committee proposes exposure controls

    The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published a proposed supervisory framework for measuring and controlling large exposures, including securitisations. It aims to ensure greater consistency in the way banks and supervisors measure, aggregate and control exposures to single counterparties.

    The proposed standard would supplement the existing risk-based capital framework by protecting banks from substantive losses caused by the sudden .......

    News Round-up 27 March 2013

  • Cat bond pro moves on

    Bill Keogh has joined insurance broker TigerRisk Partners in Stamford, Connecticut, reporting to Jayant Khadlikar. He becomes a member of TigerRisk's decision support team and will help clients find capital solutions to mitigate catastrophe risk.

    Until recently Keogh was president at EQECAT. He spent over a decade at RMS, where he rose to global ceo and he began his career .......

    Job Swaps 27 March 2013

  • Post-crisis peak for CMBS defeasance

    US CMBS loan defeasance in 2012 was higher than in any year since its peak in 2007. Defeasance of CMBS loans increased 21% from 2011, up to US$5.9bn, which Moody's attributes to a rise in liquidity options, a low-interest-rate environment and continued improvement in real estate fundamentals.

    "Defeasance dramatically reduces the risk of potential loss of principal and interest associated .......

    News Round-up 27 March 2013

  • AJs boost CMBS secondary volume

    Secondary trading flows across the US markets were quiet yesterday as the holiday-shortened week got off to a slow start. US CMBS did see more secondary activity than elsewhere. GG10 Dupers were quoted at swaps plus 134/132, having closed out last week at 135bp over.

    "Generic CMBS spreads are unchanged on the day. BWIC volume is light to start the .......

    Market Reports 26 March 2013

  • EC contemplates more securitisation

    The European Commission has released a Green Paper on long-term financing in Europe. AFME has been quick to praise the included proposals, such as the Green Paper's call for increased capital markets funding for housing, including residential mortgages, which could see securitisation play a pivotal role.

    "Reshaping securitisation markets could also help unlock additional sources of long-term finance. Subject to .......

    News Round-up 26 March 2013
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