Complete news archive

  • EMEA SF ratings chief named

    S&P has promoted Michelle Weston to regional practice leader for structured finance ratings in EMEA. She will report to Paul Coughlin, executive md for global analytics and operations and global practice leader for structured finance ratings.

    Weston previously held both analytical and management roles within the organisation. Her most recent role was as general manager for structured finance and she .......

    Job Swaps 7 March 2012

  • FHA refi changes announced

    President Obama has announced changes to the FHA streamlined refinance programme, which the market has been expecting for some time (SCI passim). The changes are intended to spur refinancing by exempting borrowers from certain payment requirements.

    The plan will see borrowers whose loans were originated before 1 June 2009 pay an annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) after refinancing of 55bp, .......

    News 7 March 2012

  • Regulatory specialist recruited

    Lisa Ledbetter has joined SNR Denton in Washington DC. She becomes a partner in the firm's financial institutions regulatory practice.

    Ledbetter comes over from Freddie Mac, where she spent 13 years, most recently as vp and deputy general counsel. Prior to that she held several senior positions at the FDIC and has also worked in the banking and finance team .......

    Job Swaps 7 March 2012

  • Trading vet resurfaces

    Alan Packman has joined Knight Capital Group as head of structured credit trading. Packman was most recently at UBS Investment Bank, where he was head of CDO trading for Europe.

    The trader has considerable experience across structured finance and has previously worked at Aladdin Capital Management, Hoare Capital Markets, Dresdner Kleinwort, Lloyds TSB and WestLB trading ABS, MBS, CDOs and .......

    Job Swaps 6 March 2012

  • Numerix completes Euro expansion

    Numerix has announced five hires and opened two new offices in Europe. The new offices are in Frankfurt and Milan, while the Stockholm, Paris and London offices have also been expanded.

    Wolfgang Porada joins as regional sales manager, responsible for managing and expanding Numerix's client base across Germany, Austria and Switzerland from the Frankfurt office. He specialises in potential future .......

    Job Swaps 6 March 2012

  • SF lawyer joins NY firm

    Howard Mulligan has joined Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen as of counsel in the firm's corporate department. His practice focuses on structured finance and business restructurings.

    Mulligan has 17 years of experience in structured finance, securitisation, derivatives and mergers and acquisitions involving structured products. He has previously practiced in the New York offices of law firms McDermott Will & Emery, .......

    Job Swaps 6 March 2012

  • CDS recoveries scrutinised

    The difference in average CDS recoveries and average bankruptcy recoveries is four points, according to credit derivative strategists at Morgan Stanley. They point to the frequent misconception that CDS settlement represents the true 'recovery' for a corporate entity, when in fact credit events settle fairly early in the typical lifecycle of a bankruptcy workout.

    Based on 27 corporations that have .......

    News 6 March 2012

  • Bank downgrades threaten trustee roles

    The negative rating outlooks for many banks that serve as trustees on CLOs raises the possibility that at some point certain counterpaties may no longer be eligible to service CLOs and will have to be replaced by the deal's issuers. In Moody's latest CLO Interest publication, the rating agency notes that a change in trustee could lead to servicing delays .......

    News 6 March 2012

  • Bank boosts European trading team

    HSBC has appointed Jose Mosquera as head of European financial credit trading. The bank has also hired Michael Bogecho as a financial CDS trader and Filippos Katsilides as a credit derivatives index options trader. All three will be based in London.

    Mosquera will be responsible for the bank's financial credit trading franchise and will target a larger share of the .......

    Job Swaps 6 March 2012

  • MBS vet becomes REIT president

    Byron Boston has been promoted to president and appointed to the board of directors at Dynex Capital. He joined Dynex four years ago as cio and will retain those duties alongside his new role.

    Boston has three decades of experience in the industry, having begun as a banker and MBS trader for Chemical Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers. .......

    Job Swaps 6 March 2012

  • FVA supported

    Quantifi has announced the latest release of its pricing and risk analysis software, Quantifi Version 10.2. The firm says the release delivers significant enhancements across its entire product range, including the latest counterparty risk innovations, expanded intra-day risk management, broader asset coverage and simplified data management capabilities.

    Rohan Douglas, Quantifi ceo, comments: "Funding is a key component in analysing the .......

    News Round-up 6 March 2012

  • Mystic Re III closes

    Liberty Mutual's Mystic Re III (SCI 14 February 2012) has closed providing US multi-peril cover totalling US$275m. The two tranche deal is based on the ultimate net losses of the ceding insurer from US hurricanes and earthquakes, including fire following, on a per-occurrence basis.

    Mystic Re III's US$100m series 2012-1 class A notes priced at 900bp over Treasury money market .......

    News Round-up 5 March 2012

  • Muni CDS protocol launched

    ISDA has launched the 2012 US Municipal Reference Entity CDS Protocol. The purpose of the Protocol is to make similar changes to US municipal CDS transactions to those made to corporate and sovereign CDS under the 2009 'big bang' protocol (see SCI 15 April 2009). It is intended to align the US municipal CDS market with the corporate and sovereign .......

    News Round-up 5 March 2012

  • Fannie loan-level data released

    Fannie Mae has released loan-level data for its newly issued single-family MBS as part of its loan-level disclosures initiative.

    "We believe that disclosing loan-level data is an important step towards meeting our investors' desire for enhanced transparency," comments Laura Simmons, vp MBS disclosure policy and operations. "In subsequent releases, we expect to be able to provide additional data elements in .......

    News Round-up 5 March 2012

  • Currency conundrum

    Kazakh RMBS highlights EM ABS redenomination risks

    A decision by the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan to prevent the indexation of mortgage balances to the US dollar has highlighted the continuing legal and currency risks involved in emerging market securitisations, particularly during time of economic stress. Meanwhile, prospects for new cross-border RMBS from Russia and the CIS remain dim, but the domestic market continues to progress.

    The Supreme .......

    News Analysis 5 March 2012

  • Client development division boosted

    Rosie Brooke-Taylor has joined Wilmington Trust's corporate client services group in London. She is responsible for presenting the company's full range of specialised trust and administrative services to corporate clients throughout Europe.

    Brooke-Taylor reports to John Traynor, European business development md, and Christophe Schroeder, corporate client services executive md. She joins from Capita Group, where she was a business development .......

    Job Swaps 5 March 2012

  • Broker fined for CMO fraud

    The former ceo of Brookstreet Securities Corp has been ordered by a federal judge to pay a maximum US$10m penalty in a securities fraud case. The US SEC had brought charges against Stanley Brooks and Brookstreet for systematically selling risky MBS to customers with conservative investment goals (SCI 16 December 2009).

    The SEC says Brooks and Brookstreet developed a programme .......

    Job Swaps 5 March 2012

  • Real estate debt head named

    John Feeney has joined Henderson Global Investors as head of real estate debt in its secured credit team. He will work with the firm's property business and fixed income team to drive business growth in real estate debt.

    Feeney has been involved in CRE since 2004. He was a co-founder of Bank of America's European and Asian real estate lending .......

    Job Swaps 5 March 2012

  • Law firm promotes four

    Chadbourne & Parke has promoted a number of its structured finance lawyers. Alejandro Landa and Daniel Spencer each become international partners, based in Mexico City and Sao Paulo, respectively, Jeff Browne becomes international counsel in Moscow and Joseph Giannini becomes counsel in New York.

    Landa counsels companies and financial institutions on financial, securities and corporate transactions including ABS and future .......

    Job Swaps 5 March 2012

  • SCI Start the Week - 5 March

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

    Pipeline
    Last week saw several deals enter the pipeline and price within days, although a few new names remained on Friday. Domino's is in the market with a US$1.675bn whole business securitisation (Domino's Pizza Master Issuer Series 2012-1), while two student loan ABS (US$824m SLM Student Loan Trust 2012-2 and US$393m Edsouth Indenture No 2 2012-1) are also marketing. Additionally, Doral .......

    News 5 March 2012

  • Cards from abroad

    US investors hungry for UK credit card ABS

    Barclays last week priced its latest UK credit card ABS, with the largest tranche denominated in US dollars. US accounts are increasingly looking to invest in UK credit card paper for several reasons and that interest is expected to continue.

    Barclays' Gracechurch Card Programme Funding 2012-1 - whose US$450m 2.93-year class A1 notes printed at 70bp over one-month Libor - .......

    News Analysis 5 March 2012
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