Complete news archive

  • Credit opportunity fund minted

    RLJ Credit Opportunity Fund has received a license from the US Small Business Administration to operate as a Small Business Investment Company. The launch of the new fund is a continuation of The RLJ Companies' strategy to become a preeminent business in financial asset management.

    Deutsche Bank, SunTrust, Wells Fargo and Northern Trust have invested in the fund, which is .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2012

  • OTC reform impacting sovereigns

    OTC derivative market reforms are raising particularly challenging questions for sovereign institutions, according to a new BNY Mellon report. The report explores inherent inconsistencies in the application of key OTC reform provisions and the potential impact on sovereign institutions - a base of increasingly influential global investors that use capital markets and OTC derivatives for implementing their investment strategies and .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2012

  • Sovereign CDS activity reviewed

    CMA has released its global sovereign debt credit risk report for 2Q12, in which it names the top-ten most and least risky sovereigns, as well as the best and worst performers.

    The quarter proved to be rocky for many sovereigns, as the European debt crisis spread to Spain and Italy. However, Greece re-entered the rankings after being removed last quarter, .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2012

  • CMBS leverage set to rise

    Leverage on US CMBS conduit loans to be securitised in the third quarter will likely be higher than it was in the second quarter, leading to more credit enhancement being necessary to achieve similar ratings, Moody's notes. Specifically, based on the transactions in its deal pipeline, the agency's LTV ratio is positioned to increase to 102.1% during the quarter from .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2012

  • Trups CDO criteria updated

    Fitch has published an updated rating criteria report for Trups CDOs, under which it will differentiate its cure rate assumptions among current deferring bank issuers based on their bank score history following a deferral. Bank scores are assigned via the agency's proprietary bank score model and are a key factor in its Trups CDO rating methodology.

    In addition to its .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2012

  • APAC upgrades outnumber downgrades

    Fitch reports that APAC structured finance upgrades outnumbered downgrades in 2Q12 for the first time in two years. There were 24 upgrades, four downgrades and 267 affirmations during the quarter.

    The upgrades were predominantly driven by stronger-than-expected asset performance and increased available credit enhancement in Australia and India. The limited downgrades in the quarter were mostly to distressed tranches of .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2012

  • CLO specialist joins law firm

    Perry Sayles has joined McDermott Will & Emery in New York. He becomes financial institutions partner.

    Sayles has broad experience of derivatives, securitisation and structured products transactions as well as traditional corporate finance, project finance and acquisition finance. He specialises in CLOs and CDOs.

    .......

    Job Swaps 12 July 2012

  • Trepp adds ETF to CMBS offering

    Trepp has partnered with BlackRock's iShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs) business. It will now integrate the iShares Barclays CMBS Bond Fund into its CMBS analytics product offering.

    The iShares fund is the first ETF to provide exposure to investment grade CMBS (SCI 17 February). Trepp has leveraged its CMBS data to provide clients with a detailed overview of the iShares Barclays .......

    Job Swaps 12 July 2012

  • Differentiation debated

    Call for renewed focus on RMBS servicing incentives

    Efforts to overhaul residential mortgage servicers' compensation and incentives have been submerged by regulatory rule-making and compliance with the Attorneys General settlement. However, a recently issued commentary calls for renewed focus on this issue, suggesting that the RMBS servicing industry has much to learn from CMBS servicing practices.

    The crux of the commentary, entitled 'All servicers are not created equal: .......

    News Analysis 12 July 2012

  • Restive market seeks 'game changer'

    It has been a quiet spell for the European RMBS market. Demand seems to be outstripping supply, but a recent transaction - Dutch Mortgage Portfolio Loans X - has caught the eye and change could be on the horizon.

    "The lack of issuance is really starting to show," says one trader. "The short end is extremely well bid and trading .......

    Market Reports 11 July 2012

  • GRAND proposal wins support

    GRAND CMBS bonds reacted positively in the secondary market to the proposed restructuring terms (SCI 10 July), with class A spreads moving from the low- to mid-90s to above 97 and junior tranches rallying by more than 20 points. If accepted, the refinancing is expected to lead to a 're-rating' of the transaction, with further significant price appreciation possible.

    Deutsche .......

    News 11 July 2012

  • Increase seen in CDS liquidity

    Fitch Solutions reports that CDS liquidity in the three major regions is higher than it was one month ago. European names have seen a bigger increase than those in North America, while Asia remained largely unchanged.

    "Among European sovereigns, Germany has seen the biggest uptick in CDS liquidity, moving up three regional percentiles over the past month and 19 over .......

    News Round-up 11 July 2012

  • Testing time

    The sophistication of ABS pricing and valuation vendors and...

    The securitisation market's understanding of fair value has improved dramatically since the financial crisis, driven by increased transparency and ever-more sophisticated vendor solutions. However, progress still needs to be made in some areas, including standardisation of reporting and availability of loan-level data.

    The ABS market generally has become more diversified since the financial crisis, according to Anthony Belcher, director EMEA .......

    News Analysis 11 July 2012

  • CLO modelling error corrected

    Moody's has placed 78 tranches from 15 European CLOs, currently rated Aa1 and below, on review for upgrade and upgraded two further tranches. The actions reflect a correction to the rating model the agency used for these transactions, as well as the generally stable performance of the affected tranches since the last rating action in 2011.

    Prior to the correction, .......

    News Round-up 11 July 2012

  • Dodd-Frank provisions reviewed

    SIFMA public policy and advocacy evp Kenneth Bentsen yesterday testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises regarding the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act. Specifically, he focused on the implementation of the Volcker Rule, credit risk retention, Title VII and Section 165(e) single counterparty credit limits.

    "It is essential that US regulatory agencies, in .......

    News Round-up 11 July 2012

  • Lehman vet joins boutique

    Glenn Kim has joined Moelis & Company in London as md. He will work across the firm's advisory businesses serving European sovereign and government sector clients and financial institutions.

    Kim joins from Bundesrepublik Deutschland Finanzagentur, where he was a senior advisor on European Financial Stability Facility-related activities. Before that he spent more than 20 years at Lehman Brothers in a .......

    Job Swaps 11 July 2012

  • UK, Italy SF specialist appointed

    Ugo Giordano has joined Paul Hastings as partner. He is based in London and will focus on UK and Italian structured finance and securitisation transactions.

    Giordano joins from Ashurst. He brings experience across capital markets, securitisation, structured products, leveraged and acquisition finance and securities regulation.

    .......

    Job Swaps 11 July 2012

  • GBW sale supports MFH CMBS

    A portfolio of 33,000 apartments being sold by BayernLB subsidiary GBW is expected to generate significant bidding interest, reflecting sustained demand for German multifamily housing (MFH) portfolios, Fitch notes. The agency says this supports its view that the diversified and durable income generated by well-managed MFH is a major strength for the three large German MFH CMBS - albeit balloon .......

    News Round-up 10 July 2012

  • Foreclosure standards improving

    The mortgage settlement between US state attorneys general and the five largest mortgage servicers (SCI passim) has introduced more clarity to foreclosure standards and a marginal impact on private-label RMBS performance thus far, according to Fitch.

    As per the settlement agreed upon five months ago, US$25bn was provided for borrower relief. Of that amount, US$10bn was allotted to principal reductions .......

    News Round-up 10 July 2012

  • SEC approves swap definitions

    The US SEC has approved rules and interpretations that further define the terms 'swap' and 'security-based swap', as well as whether a particular instrument is a 'swap' regulated by the CFTC or a 'security-based swap' regulated by the SEC. The action also addresses 'mixed swaps' - which are regulated by both agencies - and 'security-based swap agreements', which are regulated .......

    News Round-up 10 July 2012

  • ML3 auctions announced

    The New York Fed has announced four more asset sales from the Maiden Lane III vehicle, with bids due by 12 July.

    The first auction comprises three CDO tranches worth US$34.5m. Barclays Capital, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Securities, JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and RBS Securities have been invited to bid for the collateral.

    News Round-up 10 July 2012

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