Complete news archive

  • Challenging times

    Euro CMBS investors call for better disclosure

    European CMBS servicers continue to face challenges, with enforcement set to feature increasingly in workouts. At the same time, investors are calling for more detailed information on loan developments.

    Janaka Nanayakkara, head of ABS and real estate strategy at Chalkhill Partners, confirms that bondholders are seeking more information and clarity on CMBS loan developments. "In some cases bondholders are in .......

    News Analysis 7 April 2011

  • MBS strategy head hired

    RBS has appointed Krishna Prasad as head of mortgage-backed strategy for Europe in its global banking & markets division. Based in London, he will report to Ganesh Rajendra, the bank's head of international asset & mortgage-backed strategy.

    Prasad was most recently a senior portfolio manager in BlackRock's financial markets advisory group. Prior to this, he was a senior portfolio manager at .......

    Job Swaps 7 April 2011

  • Securitisation's come-back surveyed

    Net securitisation worldwide rose by 49% to US$739bn in 2010 but remains only just over a third of the 2007 high, according to TheCityUK's latest annual report on the market. Recovery in investor sentiment contributed to a more than threefold rise in net issuance in Europe to US$96bn in 2010 from the low point of US$26bn in 2009. The US .......

    News Round-up 7 April 2011

  • New MBX, TRX series planned

    Markit is adding five new series to its MBX, IOS and PO agency mortgage indices on 12 April. The sub-indices will reference Fannie Mae collateral issued with 5% and 5.5% coupons for the 2003, 2005 and 2008 vintages.

    The new MBX sub-indices are: MBX.FN30.500.03, MBX.FN30.500.05, MBX.FN30.500.08, MBX.FN30.550.03 and MBX.FN30.550.05. The IOS sub-indices are: IOS.FN30.500.03, IOS.FN30.500.05, IOS.FN30.500.08 and IOS.FN30.550.05. And the .......

    News Round-up 7 April 2011

  • Paris SF lawyer swaps firms

    Law firm Fasken Martineau has recruited Arnauld Achard as partner in its Paris office. He specialises in debt capital market transactions, including structured finance and derivative products.

    Achard was previously partner and head of the capital markets practice in Paris at Simmons & Simmons. His expertise will permit Fasken Martineau's Paris office to diversify its platform by offering high quality .......

    Job Swaps 7 April 2011

  • DTCC chairman recruited

    The DTCC has appointed Robert Druskin as chairman of its board of directors. Donald Donahue will continue to oversee the firm's domestic and international businesses, operations, technology and other functions as ceo.

    The DTCC announced in December that it would separate the roles of chairman and ceo to ensure a best-in-class approach in governance and risk management oversight. "This approach follows .......

    Job Swaps 7 April 2011

  • US credit cards show mixed performance

    US credit card ABS charge-offs rose for the first time in six months while most other metrics posted further gains, according to the latest credit card ABS index results from Fitch.

    "The charge-off increase is more reflective of seasonal factors like a rise in tax season bankruptcy filings and less a precursor to worsening credit trends. Ongoing delinquency improvements are .......

    News Round-up 7 April 2011

  • Promotion for credit derivatives pair

    BMO Capital Markets has promoted Dan Atack to md and Piper Kerr to director in its leveraged finance distribution and trading team. The pair will report to David Weiss, BMO's head of leveraged finance distribution and trading.

    Based in Toronto, Atack and Kerr will be responsible for trading Canadian-issued high yield bonds while working closely with the firm's syndicate and .......

    Job Swaps 7 April 2011

  • Japanese CMBS property sales eyed

    In monitoring Japanese CMBS defaulted loans affected by the recent earthquake, Moody's says it will focus on the progress of property sales after the restart of special servicing, rather than on a temporary decline in the profitability and repair of properties. Of the 78 deals in the agency's Japanese rated CMBS portfolio, 23 are backed by 89 properties amounting to .......

    News Round-up 7 April 2011

  • Asset manager adds director

    WyeTree Asset Management has appointed Yana Kramer as executive director. Responsible for investor relations, she will report to the firm's ceo Mike Chacos.

    Kramer joins WyeTree from hedge fund manager QRT Capital. Prior to this, she worked within fixed income at both Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital.

    .......

    Job Swaps 6 April 2011

  • Index options model strengthened

    Quantifi has enhanced its credit index options models in response to client demand. Increased market depth and liquidity has driven a need for models to capture the dynamic of the full volatility surface and observed skew, the firm says.

    "Credit desks and counterparty risk management desks, in particular, have expanded their use of CDS index options. This current increase in .......

    News Round-up 6 April 2011

  • CVA solution enhanced

    QuIC Financial Technologies has licensed calculation methodologies developed by Solum Financial Partners to enhance the calculation speed of its credit value adjustment (CVA) solution for counterparty risk managers. The solution helps banks to improve trade pricing and hedge volatility affecting their CVA, without additional or specialised hardware, the firm says.

    Solum's proprietary calculation methodology extends QuIC's advantage in performing the .......

    News Round-up 6 April 2011

  • Call for CMBS retention rule changes

    Certain portions of the risk retention rules proposed by the federal agencies last week (see SCI 30 March) have generated heated debate among industry participants. While the proposals have positive aspects, there are also some concerning implications for CMBS issuance in particular.

    MBS analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch note that the acknowledgement in the proposed rules of certain .......

    News 6 April 2011

  • Further downgrades for Portuguese ABS

    Fitch has downgraded 56 tranches - of which 51 are RMBS, one ABS and four structured credit (SC) - from 35 Portuguese structured finance transactions. All tranches remain on rating watch negative, with a further two tranches placed on review.

    The rating actions follow the downgrade of Portugal's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to triple-B minus from .......

    News Round-up 6 April 2011

  • Spirit demerger reviewed

    Moody's has commented on the demerger of the Spirit Group from parent Punch Taverns and the creation of a new listed parent company, Spirit plc. The agency currently rates all classes of notes issued by Spirit Issuer at Ba2.

    Following Punch's strategic review (see SCI 23 March), Spirit's current strategy appears unsustainable and restructuring was deemed to be necessary. The .......

    News Round-up 6 April 2011

  • OTC industry commitments outlined

    ISDA has jointly submitted a letter with market participants and industry associations to global supervisors publicly detailing ways in which the industry will work to make the OTC derivatives markets safe and efficient. These commitments include increasing standardisation, expanding central clearing, enhancing bilateral risk management and increasing transparency.

    In terms of OTC derivatives product and process standardisation, the industry says .......

    News Round-up 6 April 2011

  • Wachovia fined over CDO misconduct

    Wells Fargo Securities has agreed to settle charges regarding Wachovia Capital Markets' involvement in the misconduct of two CDO sales. The sales were tied to the performance of US RMBS as the housing market began to show signs of distress in late 2006 and early 2007.

    The SEC found that Wachovia violated the securities laws by charging undisclosed excessive mark-ups .......

    Job Swaps 6 April 2011

  • Promotion for real estate pro

    GE Capital has promoted Dmitri Stockton to president and ceo of its asset management arm (GE Asset Management). He succeeds Jay Ireland, who is assuming a newly-created position as president and ceo for GE Africa.

    Stockton was most recently president and ceo of GE Capital's global banking unit, with responsibility for leading its consumer lending businesses and joint venture relationships .......

    Job Swaps 6 April 2011

  • RMBS vet moves on

    RMBS specialist Jay Hohman has joined Cohen & Company Capital Markets as md. He was previously a director at StormHarbour Partners, which he joined in July 2010. Before that, he was an svp at Fundamental Capital Markets.

    .......

    Job Swaps 6 April 2011

  • Sluggish start for US CMBS

    The quarter-end lull in secondary US CMBS has continued this week, with a handful of bid-lists trading. At the same time, market participants are focusing on the risk retention rules proposed last week.

    "It's been a really slow week in terms of trading. A few bid-lists have launched, but it's been a pretty sluggish start overall," one CMBS trader says.

    Market Reports 6 April 2011

  • Regulations to delay SF recovery?

    The influx of new and proposed global structured finance regulations is likely to delay the return of a 'normalised' market by at least 12 months, according to Fitch. Although regulations have a worthy aim in creating a robust framework, the number of international bodies involved means that substantial regulatory implementation and consistency is unlikely to be attained until at least .......

    News Round-up 5 April 2011
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