Complete news archive

  • SCI Start the Week - 14 January

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

    Pipeline
    New deals have begun to be announced for the first part of the year, with seven transactions joining the pipeline last week. There was a mix between the different ABS sub-sectors, ILS, RMBS and CMBS.

    The ABS deals entering the pipeline comprised: US$940m Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust 2013-1 and ¥25bn Driver Japan Two in the auto space, as well .......

    News 14 January 2013

  • Financial benchmark consultations launched

    IOSCO has published a consultation report on financial benchmarks seeking comment on policy issues. Meanwhile, ESMA and the European Banking Authority (EBA) have also moved to strengthen Euribor and benchmark rate-setting processes and launched a European consultation of their own.

    The IOSCO report discusses concerns regarding the potential inaccuracy or manipulation of benchmarks and identifies benchmark-related policy issues across securities .......

    News Round-up 11 January 2013

  • Covered bond rules benefit bondholders

    New rules governing Canadian covered bonds provide some increased protections for bondholders but are largely a confirmation of existing contractual agreements, says Fitch. Concerns about increased credit risk were raised last month (SCI 21 December 2012).

    The rating agency says that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) guidance requirements are positive as they are likely to protect bondholders in .......

    News Round-up 11 January 2013

  • Apartments fuel CRE price rise

    A 1.2% rise in apartment prices drove a 0.4% increase in US CRE as a whole in November, according to the latest Moody's/RCA CPPI report. Apartment prices are expected to continue to increase over the next few years, although commercial prices will trend flat to down.

    Apartment prices have risen 10.6% over the 12 months to November and the sector .......

    News Round-up 11 January 2013

  • Mortgage rule, QM definitions released

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has adopted a new rule to protect buyers from irresponsible mortgage lending. Clarification as to what will constitute a qualified mortgage (QM) has also been provided.

    The latest iteration of the rule requires lenders to ensure prospective buyers have the ability to repay their mortgage and protects borrowers from 'no doc' and interest-only lending .......

    News 11 January 2013

  • Most FHFA claims to proceed

    A New York federal judge has denied a motion to reconsider a decision which allowed the FHFA to proceed with a number of fraud claims against Ally Financial and other banks in connection with losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, a few claims based on owner-occupancy and LTV ratios were dismissed.

    The court also dismissed certain claims .......

    Job Swaps 11 January 2013

  • Record low for credit card charge-offs

    US credit card ABS finished 2012 strongly. Fitch's latest index results show charge-offs reached another record low as the year ended.

    Prime credit card charge-offs went below 4% for the first time since 2006. They declined 18bp in December to 3.98% as a result of declining bankruptcy filings delinquencies throughout the year.

    Late stage delinquencies increased 3bp to 1.73% although .......

    News Round-up 11 January 2013

  • StormHarbour enhances Spanish presence

    StormHarbour has opened a new Spanish office in Madrid and appointed Juan Del Rivero as senior advisor. The firm appointed its first senior advisor last year with the addition of Eric Daniels (SCI 26 January 2012).

    Del Rivero was formerly partner and chairman for Spain and Portugal at Goldman Sachs, where he spent 23 years. He has since been advising .......

    Job Swaps 11 January 2013

  • SME CLO methodology updated

    S&P has updated its methodology and assumptions for assessing CLOs backed by European SMEs. The new criteria are expected to have a neutral to negative impact on investment-grade ratings of existing transactions.

    The criteria update addresses credit quality and cashflow mechanics. They apply to CLOs backed by granular and well-diversified pools, but do not apply to concentrated portfolios or portfolios .......

    News Round-up 11 January 2013

  • Reinsurer acquires asset manager access

    Allied World Financial Services will buy a minority stake in Crescent Capital Group. As part of the deal, Crescent will also manage US$500m of Allied World's investment portfolio, to be deployed across a diversified set of credit strategies.

    Crescent invests at all levels of the capital structure and specialises in below investment grade credit and structured products. Strategies include investing .......

    Job Swaps 11 January 2013

  • RMBS BWIC volume gains ground

    US RMBS secondary supply continues to climb. Agency volume rose sharply yesterday, while non-agency - although down on the previous session - was considerably higher than earlier in the year, at US$799m.

    US$17m of the Alt-A fixed rate tranche RAST 2006-A10 A7 was talked at around 80 yesterday, according to SCI's PriceABS data, while a US$36m slice of .......

    Market Reports 10 January 2013

  • B-note bother forecast

    Further details have emerged on the resolution of the 110 East 42nd Street loan, securitised in WBCMT 2007-C33, which had been modified via an A/B note split. At the loan's retirement, the B-note failed to recover any principal (see SCI's CMBS loan events database), serving as a warning to the wider market.

    The US$90m loan - secured by .......

    News 10 January 2013

  • Mid-market specialist enlisted

    Jeff Knopping has joined KCAP Financial as md in charge of origination. He was previously md in the private capital and special situations groups at William Blair & Company.

    Prior to joining William Blair, Knopping was at GE Capital, where he co-founded the DCM business and led all capital markets activities for GE Commercial Finance. He was also global sponsor .......

    Job Swaps 10 January 2013

  • High yield expertise acquired

    Palmer Square Capital Management is acquiring a majority interest in Fountain Capital Management. The move boosts Palmer Square's alternative and credit investment capabilities.

    Fountain Capital Management specialises in managing high yield bond and bank loan portfolios, with a focus on the higher quality portion within high yield credit. Palmer Square is part of Montage Investments and Fountain Capital will now .......

    Job Swaps 9 January 2013

  • JPM vet moves on

    James Staley is joining BlueMountain Capital Management from JPMorgan, where he spent more than 34 years and was most recently investment banking ceo. He becomes managing partner and will join BlueMountain's management, risk and investment committees as he focuses on cultivating relationships and developing new strategies for the firm.

    .......

    Job Swaps 9 January 2013

  • Time out for US CMBS rally?

    US CMBS secondary spreads slowed their march into tighter territory yesterday, with some tranches even widening slightly. BWIC volume for the sector stood at around the US$300m mark, with SCI's PriceABS data showing 111 CMBS line items.

    "For each of the first four days of 2013, the CMBS market saw spreads fall smartly. On Tuesday the market took a time-out .......

    Market Reports 9 January 2013

  • Indian CDS guidelines reviewed

    The Reserve Bank of India has reviewed its guidelines on CDS, based on feedback received from the market and the suggestions of the Technical Advisory Committee on Money, Foreign Exchange and Government Securities Markets. In addition to listed corporate bonds, CDS contracts are now also permitted on unlisted but rated corporate bonds.

    In addition, end-users are now allowed to unwind .......

    News Round-up 9 January 2013

  • Servicers reach foreclosure settlement

    A number of mortgage servicing companies have reached an agreement with the OCC and the Federal Reserve Board to pay more than US$8.5bn in cash payments and other assistance to help borrowers. The sum includes US$3.3bn in direct payments to borrowers and US$5.2bn in assistance, such as loan modifications.

    The mortgage servicing companies are Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan, .......

    News Round-up 9 January 2013

  • Nationstar, Green Tree ratings eyed

    Fitch says it is monitoring the servicer ratings of Nationstar Mortgage and Green Tree Servicing, following Bank of America's announcement that it plans sell MSRs to the firms (SCI 8 January). Given the scale of the transactions, as well as the on-going integration of Aurora Bank's servicing assets at Nationstar and GMAC Mortgage's assets at Green Tree, the agency is .......

    News Round-up 9 January 2013

  • Stable performance predicted for Asian SF

    Moody's expects the performance of structured finance transactions in Asia to be largely stable in 2013.

    The credit quality of receivables in new and existing Korean credit card and auto loan transactions, for example, will remain stable. Korea's economic fundamentals have improved since the 2008 global financial crisis and Moody's expects overall continuity in the current economic policies when the .......

    News Round-up 9 January 2013

  • QRM rules awaited

    Final clarity as to what constitutes a qualified mortgage and the likelihood of increased issuance will be key developments that will shape the coming year for US RMBS, according to Fitch.

    The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's (CFPB) is expected to release the final definitions for qualified mortgages (QM) this month. "Securitisation of QRMs exempts issuers from risk retention and premium .......

    News Round-up 9 January 2013
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