Complete news archive

  • Iberian valuations partnership formed

    Pricing Partners and Siag Consulting International have formed a partnership covering Iberia and Latin America. The two firms say that Siag's expertise in market and credit risk management provides deep domain expertise to partner with Pricing Partners in advising and supporting client valuation methodologies, given the increased requirement for accurate asset valuations, regulatory compliance and correct risk-adjusted capital management for .......

    Job Swaps 7 September 2011

  • 'Tapable' WBS upgraded

    In what has been described as an unprecedented move for the agency, Fitch has upgraded a tapable transaction, raising both the class A and B notes of Dignity Finance a single notch to A plus and triple-B plus respectively. The upgrades are mainly driven by the deal's strong performance to date, the agency says.

    Fitch's adjusted 52-week ending 1 July .......

    News Round-up 7 September 2011

  • Subprime auto ABS criteria explained

    S&P has updated the market on its rating approach for subprime auto loan ABS transactions, given the new originators entering the market and the re-emergence of others that remained inactive during the credit crisis.

    "We believe this is particularly important now due to the absence of bond insurers, who had previously provided a significant portion of credit enhancement to this .......

    News Round-up 7 September 2011

  • Euro RMBS interest rate impact examined

    Fitch has examined the expected relative impact of rising interest rates on European RMBS asset performance. The heterogeneity of mortgage markets across the region means that RMBS is more exposed in some countries than others.

    "Euro zone peripheral countries Greece, Ireland and Portugal, as well as Spain, are most vulnerable to increases in interest rates. In all four countries, at .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • ABS trading md added

    RBS Securities has recruited Pat Beranek as an md on its ABS trading desk, where he will be responsible for trading non-mortgage ABS with Alan Johannsen. Beranek will report to Adam Siegel, co-head of US ABS, MBS and CMBS trading, and will be based in Stamford, Connecticut.

    Beranek has 20 years of experience across the securitisation markets. He joins RBS from .......

    Job Swaps 6 September 2011

  • Pru JV hires second CMBS originator

    Prudential Mortgage Capital Company has hired Scott Heath as a loan officer covering the mid-Atlantic, southeast and southwest regions from the firm's Atlanta office. He will originate commercial mortgage-backed loans for securitisation by Liberty Island Group, the JV between Prudential Mortgage Capital Company and affiliates of Perella Weinberg Partners' asset-based value strategy. His appointment follows the hiring of a CMBS .......

    Job Swaps 6 September 2011

  • Correlation examined between ABS ratings, prices

    Investors are justified in using ratings as an initial indication of quality, according to a new report from European ABS strategists at RBS, in which the correlation between ABS ratings and their pricing is explored. However, this should only be an initial indication, given the high standard deviation in pricing for a given rating.

    "I think ratings have lost a .......

    News 6 September 2011

  • Euro CLO activity re-emerging

    August was a quiet month for the European CLO market, although a couple of "good-sized" bid-lists emerged at the end of last week. This could mark the slow restart of activity in the sector, says one European trader.

    "There have been one or two sales here and there. A couple of junior triple-As traded late last week, for example. They .......

    Market Reports 6 September 2011

  • CLO loan maturity profiles analysed

    Codean has released its annual update on the maturity profile of leveraged loans underlying CLO deals. The analysis indicates an upcoming peak in the amount of loans reaching maturity, albeit a comparison between this year's and last year's maturity profiles illustrates that refinancing efforts already made have resulted in a significant reduction in the value of loans due in 2012-2014 .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • ABS CDO auction scheduled

    Stone Tower Debt Advisors is to act as liquidation agent on the Newbury Street CDO. The collateral will be auctioned via four public sales in New York on 14 September.

    .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • Counterparty criteria dominate Q2 rating actions

    Credit watch resolutions linked to S&P's 2010 counterparty criteria dominated the agency's European structured finance rating actions in 2Q11. The total number of downgrade actions accelerated during the quarter, outpacing the number of upgrades sixfold.

    "To put this in perspective, we took 937 rating actions in the quarter, comprising 812 downgrades and 125 upgrades, compared with 240 downgrades and 72 .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • NGAM bolsters alternatives business

    Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM) has acquired a controlling interest in Darius Capital Partners, an investment advisory and research firm that provides customised hedge fund solutions to address institutional investors' growing needs for transparency, liquidity and risk management. The firm uses a broad range of products - including UCITs, managed accounts, hedge funds and fund of funds - to deliver .......

    Job Swaps 6 September 2011

  • OTC valuation service enhanced

    CMA has released a new version of CMA NAVigate, its web-based workflow solution that aims to bring transparency and independence to the valuation of OTC positions.

    CMA NAVigate 1.6 introduces an intuitive user interface that provides the tools, pricing transparency and real-time support required to manage the pricing process, CMA says. The service handles valuations across multiple asset classes, making .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • Japan ABS stabilising on household debt decline

    Moody's expects the ongoing decline in Japanese household debt levels to help stabilise ABS asset performance in Japan. The country's consumer credit balance decreased significantly to ¥26trn in 2010 from ¥39trn in 2005 - a credit positive for consumer ABS in Japan, according to the rating agency.

    The trend is expected to result in less burdensome repayments for many underlying .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • Peripheral recovery rate assumptions analysed

    Fitch has analysed the foreclosure frequency and recovery rate assumptions applicable to the analysis of residential mortgage portfolio across the various European jurisdictions. The study shows how the agency's most conservative expectations are associated with peripheral countries - Portugal, Greece and Ireland.

    The foreclosure frequency and recovery rate assumptions for Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France are best placed among .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • Greek RMBS affirmed

    Fitch has affirmed 34 tranches and downgraded one tranche of 13 Greek RMBS transactions. The agency has also removed 32 tranches from rating watch negative (RWN).

    Although the Greek sovereign situation remains uncertain, in Fitch's view a further downgrade would not necessarily imply an increase in the risk associated with RMBS transactions, which would instead be impacted by deterioration in .......

    News Round-up 6 September 2011

  • Option, tranche trade ideas touted

    Implied volatility for both European and US credit indices is currently close to the peak realised volatility experienced during the financial crisis. Against this backdrop, dealers have been selling volatility - whether opportunistically in Europe or to exit overbought long positions in the US.

    "The implication is that buyers of volatility are counting on monetising the long-vol positions by unwinding .......

    News 5 September 2011

  • Algorithmics acquired

    IBM has acquired Algorithmics - a member of Fitch Group - for US$387m, subject to price adjustments at closing. The acquisition is intended to expand IBM's business analytics capabilities in the financial services industry.

    "Today's economic environment demands that financial institutions have more cash on hand, a better understanding of their financial standing and the ability to deliver more transparency .......

    Job Swaps 5 September 2011

  • EMEA RMBS loan mods analysed

    Fitch says that data it has received suggests that EMEA loan modifications programmes are currently not providing benefits to all parties to RMBS loan transactions. Loan modifications are becoming prevalent across the major European residential mortgage markets following the formal introduction of the programmes into UK RMBS in January 2008.

    From the data provided by mortgage servicers and banks across .......

    News Round-up 5 September 2011

  • FHFA probe targets 17 more firms

    The FHFA, as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has filed lawsuits against 17 financial institutions, certain of their officers and various unaffiliated lead underwriters. The suits allege violations of federal securities laws and common law in the sale of residential private-label MBS (PLS) to the GSEs.

    Complaints have been filed against: Ally Financial, Bank of America, Barclays Bank, .......

    Job Swaps 5 September 2011

  • EMEA ratings migration examined

    The ratings of the majority of EMEA structured finance (SF) bonds that were outstanding in July 2007 have been stable, according to Fitch. The ratings migration differs across the asset classes within SF, with the ratings for transactions backed by consumer assets showing greater resilience.

    In the four years since the onset of the credit crisis, approximately 40% of the .......

    News Round-up 5 September 2011
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