Complete news archive

  • Indemnity cat bond prepped

    Swiss Re is in the market with Combine Re, an indemnity catastrophe bond exposed to US hurricane, storm and earthquake risk. The reinsured parties involved are COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company and North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance.

    The transaction comprises US$100m class A and US$50m class B principal at-risk variable rate notes due 7 January 2015. Moody's has assigned provisional .......

    News Round-up 16 March 2012

  • Moody's warns on credit easing

    Relaxed underwriting standards, more complex structures and the entrance of new untested market participants have led to an increase in credit risk for US securitisations, according to Moody's. The agency says that while the riskiness of securitisations is still low compared to the level it reached in 2006 and 2007, the signs of credit easing in originations are evident in .......

    News Round-up 16 March 2012

  • Derivatives lawyer joins NY office

    Ilene Froom has joined Jones Day in its New York office. She joins the firm as a partner to add depth to its structured and derivative products group within its banking and finance practice.

    Froom joins from JPMorgan Chase, where she was executive director and assistant general counsel. She has substantial experience in transactions involving credit, foreign exchange and interest .......

    Job Swaps 16 March 2012

  • Euro SF macroeconomic drivers identified

    A new S&P report identifies five of the top macroeconomic factors that the agency believes are most relevant to the credit quality of European structured finance securities and, therefore, to its rating actions. These factors include GDP growth, the unemployment rate, property prices, bank equity returns and the corporate credit risk premium.

    S&P selected its top-five factors by examining correlations .......

    News Round-up 15 March 2012

  • Fed's role in agency MBS discussed

    The Fed is to continue reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt in agency MBS. A new study illustrates that the Fed's actions have been a major technical factor in the agency MBS market.

    The Fed's MBS reinvestment programme has been a net buyer of US$136bn of agency MBS since October 2011, according to MBS strategists at RBS. .......

    News 15 March 2012

  • CLO warning issued

    Fitch has identified one implementation of the Volcker Rule that could have unintended consequences for corporate issuers that access capital through the leveraged loan market and CLOs. This risk has been also been noted by several industry associations, notably the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA).

    The agency points out that CLOs do not engage in activities the rule is .......

    News Round-up 14 March 2012

  • Liquidity boost

    Muni CDS 'quirks' to remain

    The launch of ISDA's 2012 US Municipal Reference Entity CDS Protocol (SCI 5 March) is expected to boost liquidity in the market, especially for single name muni CDS. But, despite efforts to increase standardisation, MCDS contracts will continue to feature a number of unique quirks.

    The MCDS market will move to fixed coupons of 100bp and 500bp under the new .......

    News Analysis 14 March 2012

  • Recourse wrangling

    A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision over the Cherryland Center loan securitised in GMACC 2002-C3 has the potential to challenge the main tenets of the CMBS market - the non-recourse nature of the loans. The ultimate outcome of the litigation is likely to be positive for CMBS investors, according to CRE debt analysts at Deutsche Bank.

    The collateral for .......

    News 14 March 2012

  • Forbearance fears

    European principal forgiveness schemes unnerve investors

    Ireland and Spain are set to introduce new debt forgiveness legislation in the coming months that will not only impact their domestic mortgage markets, but may also have ramifications for the associated RMBS. Investors are keeping a close eye on developments, particularly with regards to whether the forbearance measures become compulsory.

    "Potential debt forgiveness programmes in Ireland and Spain are .......

    News Analysis 14 March 2012

  • SEC charges ex-Thornburg executives

    The US SEC has charged former executives at Thornburg Mortgage Inc with hiding the company's deteriorating financial condition at the start of the financial crisis. It says the executives engaged in a scheme to deceive Thornburg's auditor and investors into believing that the company had successfully met all its margin calls.

    Former ceo Larry Goldstone, cfo Clarence Simmons and chief .......

    Job Swaps 14 March 2012

  • Chinese derivatives regulation evolving

    The availability of new products and domestic financial institutions' entry into overseas markets is driving rapid change in the Chinese derivatives market, according to a new report from Celent. The report finds that while Chinese regulation is strict, it is evolving towards a more open, orderly derivatives market.

    New regulations are affecting the Chinese derivatives market structure deeply, according to .......

    News Round-up 14 March 2012

  • Focus shifts to Portugal CDS

    The S&P/ISDA International Developed Nation and Eurozone Developed Nation Sovereign CDS indices have been re-versioned with the removal of Greece as a constituent. As a result, the weighted average spread for each index dropped significantly, with the spread of the Eurozone index now at 246bp.

    In comparison, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy (ranked highest to lowest) all have CDS par .......

    News Round-up 14 March 2012

  • Typhoon cat bond launches

    A new Japanese wind and storm catastrophe bond is being marketed by Swiss Re Capital Markets - Akibare II.

    Swiss Re will be the counterparty to the risk transfer contract but the US$90m single-tranche deal will ultimately provide protection to the reinsured - Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. The deal will be exposed to typhoons and tropical storms in Japan between March .......

    News Round-up 13 March 2012

  • NCUA RMBS settlement reached

    The NCUA and HSBC have reached a settlement regarding potential claims relating to the sale of RMBS to five failed wholesale credit unions. HSBC has agreed to pay NCUA US$5.25m.

    NCUA will use the net proceeds from the settlement to further reduce assessments being charged to credit unions to pay for the losses. The association has received a total of .......

    Job Swaps 13 March 2012

  • Securitisation chief moves on

    Richard Reilly has joined DLA Piper's global investment funds practice as a partner. His securities practice focuses on investment fund formation in the US and Europe and represents credit hedge funds and private equity-style funds as well as placement agents.

    Reilly will be based in New York. He joins from White & Case where he was global co-head of the .......

    Job Swaps 13 March 2012

  • New role for former Dynamic Credit ceo

    James Finkel has been appointed as leader of Duff & Phelps' financial crisis disputes practice, based in New York. He was previously leader of the firm's complex asset solutions team.

    Finkel has more than 25 years of experience within structured finance and joined Duff & Phelps in late 2010 as part of the acquisition of the US consulting business of .......

    Job Swaps 13 March 2012

  • ILS team, funds acquired

    LGT Group is buying Clariden Leu's ILS business. A team of 10 specialists and the Clariden Leu (CH) Cat Bond Fund, Clariden Leu (Lie) Cat Bond Fund, Clariden Leu (Lux) - Cat Bond Fund and Clariden Leu (Gue) ILS Plus Fund will be transferred to LGT Capital Management as part of the deal.

    The acquisition increases LGT Capital Management's AUM .......

    Job Swaps 13 March 2012

  • Allianz cat bond marketing

    Swiss Re and GC Securities are marketing a catastrophe bond from a new Allianz programme - Blue Danube.

    The as yet unsized series 2012-1 class A and B notes will be exposed to US, Caribbean and Mexico hurricane risk; and US and Canada earthquake risk between 3 April 2012 and 2 April 2015. S&P has given the deal's notes preliminary .......

    News Round-up 13 March 2012

  • AG settlement impact illuminated

    Further details have emerged on the US$25bn servicer settlements that the US federal government and attorneys general agreed with Ally, Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo (SCI 15 February). The largest impact is expected to be on deals serviced by Bank of America.

    The settlements have been filed for approval in federal court. The documents cast light on .......

    News 13 March 2012

  • Amend-to-extends proliferating

    Cengage, the seventeenth largest corporate exposure and represented in about half of the CLO universe, is targeting a three-year extension on its 2014 loan. Participants in the amendment would benefit from a 30% loan pay-down, increased spread and a consent fee, according to LCD. The largest position any one CLO has in the credit is about 5%, with average exposure .......

    News Round-up 13 March 2012

  • Subprime RMBS review completed

    Fitch has completed its review of the US subprime RMBS sector, covering 10,380 classes across 1,143 transactions. The agency has affirmed 86% of the classes, downgraded 12% and upgraded less than 1% as a result.

    Of the downgrades, 93% were by 1-2 notches. Of classes with an outlook, 94% of downgraded classes were on rating watch or outlook negative prior .......

    News Round-up 13 March 2012
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