Complete news archive

  • Fund outlines expansion plans

    Oracle Capital, the Hong Kong-based structured credit opportunities hedge fund, is to embark on a US investor roadshow. The firm is seeking to raise US$200m in AUM.

    Launched a year ago, the firm is approaching US$50m in AUM and in the first five months of the year generated a 22.36% net return (62.27% on an annualised basis). Leon Hindle, cio .......

    Job Swaps 7 June 2011

  • Variation margin requirements revisited

    A report in the BIS Quarterly Review for June 2011 suggests that major derivatives dealers have sufficient unencumbered assets to meet CCP initial margin requirements for eligible CDS and interest rate swaps outstanding, but that a few may need to increase their cash holdings to meet variation margin calls in a timely way. The report also finds that the potential .......

    News Round-up 7 June 2011

  • SME CLO criteria updated

    Fitch has updated its rating criteria for CLOs backed by SMEs loans. The agency has reduced several of its SME base-case default rates due to the macroeconomic environment for SME borrowers improving since it published its criteria in 2009.

    However, Fitch continues to assume base-case delinquencies that are still above long-term averages, given the uncertainty regarding the strength and timing .......

    News Round-up 7 June 2011

  • CDS data services added

    CMA has launched two intraday CDS data services to deliver independent credit pricing data to front and middle office professionals on a near-live basis. The CMA Intraday CDS data services are available directly from CMA and key channel partners.

    The new service for the middle office, CMA Datavision Intraday CDS, represents an expansion of the firm's existing end-of-day service to .......

    News Round-up 7 June 2011

  • ABS CDO liquidation due

    The holders of at least two-thirds of the aggregate outstanding amount of each class of Silver Marlin CDO I, an ABS CDO managed by Sailfish Structured Investment Management, have directed the trustee to sell and liquidate all of the deal's collateral. All secured parties to the transaction are eligible to bid at public sales of these assets.

    Due to the .......

    News Round-up 6 June 2011

  • Head portfolio manager hired

    Cole Real Estate Investments has recruited Donald MacKinnon as svp and head of high yield portfolio management. In this newly created position, MacKinnon will be responsible for overseeing the firm's existing portfolio of high yield commercial mortgage debt investments, new originations and high yield debt portfolio strategy, including investment in CMBS. Based in New York, he will report to Mitchell .......

    Job Swaps 6 June 2011

  • Law firm adds investment funds pair

    David Goldstein and Gerald Rokoff, both formerly with White & Case, have joined DLA Piper as partners in New York. Goldstein joins the firm's global finance group and will lead its investment funds practice. Rokoff joins the tax group.

    At White & Case, Goldstein served as co-head of the investment funds practice and advised on the formation and regulation of .......

    Job Swaps 6 June 2011

  • Euro CMBS surveillance methodology released

    DBRS has published a methodology for its surveillance of European CMBS, which describes the analysis taken to arrive at any rating actions arising from the surveillance.

    "A variety of events can affect the collateral of a CMBS pool and the cashflow necessary to ensure timely and ultimate payment of CMBS bonds," says Erin Stafford, md at DBRS. "During the life .......

    News Round-up 6 June 2011

  • Negative knock-on effect for Euro RMBS

    Negative sentiment in the US appears to have had a knock-on effect on the European secondary RMBS market. However, participants believe that activity will bounce back ahead of the summer.

    "The European market has definitely been weaker this week and it has shown in the bids for UK prime RMBS, which had been holding up pretty well in previous weeks," .......

    Market Reports 3 June 2011

  • DECO 2011-CSPK warning issued

    Fitch has published an unsolicited assessment of DECO 2011-CSPK. The rating agency says that although the deal's structure incorporates some CMBS 2.0 improvements, it finds that the transaction has a number of shortcomings.

    Fitch says that the debt raised in DECO 2011-CSPK, Europe's first benchmark CMBS transaction since the crisis, would not achieve its triple-A rating. While the transaction features .......

    News Round-up 3 June 2011

  • US special servicing loan rate drops

    The rate of US CMBS loans entering special servicing is continuing to decline, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest US CMBS newsletter.

    After reaching a peak of US$91.2bn in second quarter-2010, specially serviced CMBS loans have been declining for the last three quarters. Fitch expects this trend to continue.

    "Improving market conditions are slowing the velocity of loans transferring .......

    News Round-up 3 June 2011

  • Lebanese trade receivables deal closed

    Bemo Securitisation has closed a trade receivables securitisation for Cherfane Tawil & Co - the distributor in Lebanon of Samsung electronics. The transaction is backed by a diversified portfolio of trade receivables granted by Cherfane Tawil & Co to its clients, mainly dealers and sub-dealers. It is the first term trade receivables securitisation established under Lebanese Law.

    The transaction is .......

    News Round-up 3 June 2011

  • Bank fined for CMO deficiencies

    FINRA has fined Northern Trust Securities US$6m for deficiencies in supervising sales of CMOs and using inadequate systems to monitor certain high-volume securities trades.

    FINRA found that from October 2006 to October 2009, Northern Trust failed to monitor customer accounts for potentially unsuitable levels of concentration in CMOs. This was mainly because it used an exception reporting system that failed to .......

    Job Swaps 3 June 2011

  • Negative tone prevails in US CMBS

    A negative tone prevails in the US CMBS sector, following the release of disappointing economic data. As a result, the market remains tense ahead of tomorrow's non-farm payroll results.

    "There has been a negative tone around the market this week prompted by poor housing numbers and economic data. They really set the mood for the week," one CMBS trader says.

    Market Reports 2 June 2011

  • Robust regime

    European documentation issues examined

    European securitisation documentation has performed largely as it should have throughout the financial crisis. However, a number of hot-button issues still need to be resolved by the industry.

    One area where documentation has been tested in ways that were never envisaged is engagement with rating agencies and trustees in terms of rating agency confirmations (RACs). It has become apparent that .......

    News Analysis 2 June 2011

  • Hong Kong CRA regime up-and-running

    The new regulatory regime governing credit rating agencies (CRAs) is now operating in Hong Kong. The new regime is designed to ensure that CRAs in Hong Kong are regulated in a manner that is consistent with the enhanced standards that have been adopted in other jurisdictions

    Under the new regime, CRAs and their rating analysts are required to be licensed .......

    News Round-up 2 June 2011

  • Treasury MBS portfolio buyers revealed

    The US Treasury has updated the market on the continued orderly wind down of its agency-guaranteed MBS portfolio. During the period from March to May, the Treasury sold US$23.68bn in face value of its holdings across 118 trades.

    As a result, taxpayers have received a cumulative total of US$133.8bn in proceeds from this investment through sales by Treasury, as well .......

    News Round-up 2 June 2011

  • Performance analytics pro moves on

    Opera Solutions has appointed Jonathan Di Giambattista as vp of product management for its global markets analytics group. Di Giambattista will spearhead the strategy and development of capital markets products, while also piloting market strategies, beginning with the firm's portfolio valuation and risk platform Mobiuss/RMBS.

    Di Giambattista was previously md and global head of risk and performance analytics for Fitch .......

    Job Swaps 2 June 2011

  • Basel 3 CVA review completed

    The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has completed its review of and finalised the Basel 3 capital treatment for counterparty credit risk in bilateral trades. The review resulted in a minor modification of the credit valuation adjustment (CVA).

    Under Basel 2, the risk of counterparty default and credit migration risk were addressed but mark-to-market losses due to CVA were not. During .......

    News Round-up 2 June 2011

  • SF partner recruited

    Macfarlanes has appointed former Clifford Chance lawyer Rachel Kelly as partner. She will play a key role in the firm's ongoing strategic development in structured finance and debt capital markets.

    .......

    Job Swaps 2 June 2011

  • Maturing market

    Euro RMBS sector set for further spread tightening

    Changes made since the crisis have seen the European RMBS market become quite conservative, but there are encouraging signs that it is opening up again. At the same time, another round of spread tightening looks ever more overdue.

    The European RMBS market is not unrecognisable from its pre-crisis form, but it has seen some important changes. "Issuance is lower and .......

    News Analysis 2 June 2011
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