Complete news archive

  • Servicing settlement pros, cons examined

    S&P has commented on proposals from 50 state attorneys-general (AGs) to five of the largest US banks on mortgage servicing standards (SCI passim). The proposals are part of ongoing negotiations with servicers over establishing unified servicing standards and some form of a monetary settlement fund for borrowers affected by servicer misconduct.

    Research analysts at the agency believe the proposals are .......

    News Round-up 25 March 2011

  • Delinquent unpaid balance rises again

    The US CMBS delinquent unpaid balance last month increased slightly by US$330.4m, up to US$62.42bn from US$62.09bn a month prior, according to Realpoint's latest monthly delinquency report. This follows a slight decrease of US$229.8m in January, which marked only the second recorded decrease in the past 12 months.

    A net decline in the 30-day and 60-day delinquency categories was noted .......

    News Round-up 25 March 2011

  • CLO's key-man provisions updated

    The trustee for Alpstar CLO 2 has approved a change in the transaction's key-man documentation. Nicolas Bravard, head of credit investments at Alpstar, is now designated as the sole key person on the deal.

    .......

    News Round-up 25 March 2011

  • Portfolio management pair moves on

    Elizabeth MacLean and Jason Duko are joining PIMCO next month. They will become members of the firm's bank loan portfolio management team and be based in Newport Beach, reporting to Marc Seidner, md and senior member of the portfolio management group.

    MacLean joins PIMCO as evp and portfolio manager. She moves from Lord Abbett, where she oversaw bank loans and .......

    Job Swaps 25 March 2011

  • Management shuffle for TriOptima

    TriOptima has made several changes within its management group as it implements two new business lines with independent management: triReduce, a multilateral compression service; and triResolve, a counterparty risk management service. The firm's evp and co-founder Per Sjoberg will assume the role of group ceo, while former group ceo Brian Meese will step down and continue in his role as .......

    Job Swaps 24 March 2011

  • SCI conference line-ups announced

    Final panellist line-ups have been announced for both SCI's European CDS and OTC Derivatives Seminar in London and its Pricing, Trading & Risk Management Seminar in New York. The London event takes place on 28 March at Adelaide House, London Bridge, while the New York event is being held on 31 March at India House, One Hanover Square.

    The London .......

    News Round-up 24 March 2011

  • Warning for Euro CLOs

    The European CLO market is awaiting a raft of upcoming loan prepayments, which traders fear will dry out supply. At the same time, two specific loans are at the forefront of investor attention.

    First is Novacap's €209m all-senior leveraged loan, backing AXA Private Equity's buyout of a French chemicals group. The loan, which has been syndicated with existing lenders and .......

    Market Reports 24 March 2011

  • CMBS 2.0 standards unveiled

    The CRE Finance Council (CREFC) has released its new market standards for CMBS 2.0. The aim of CREFC's new best practices is to create market standards that can be used in the CMBS market immediately and to provide support to US federal regulators as they work to implement the Dodd-Frank Act's goal of better aligning investor and originator interests.

    First, .......

    News Round-up 24 March 2011

  • Op risk review hits Aussie RMBS

    In light of its new operational risk criteria, Moody's has placed the ratings of 56 tranches in 25 Australian RMBS transactions on review for possible downgrade. This is due to the insufficient liquidity support and operational risk in the transactions, the agency says.

    The effected ratings include 37 Aaa, seven Aa1 and 12 A1 rated tranches. Based on the rating .......

    News Round-up 24 March 2011

  • Asset manager promotes chairman

    Smith Breeden Associates has promoted its former chairman Michael Giarla to ceo. He will continue as chairman for both the firm and its executive committee.

    As a widely-published authority on MBS investments, Giarla has 29 years of experience in developing and applying quantitative financial analysis to MBS valuation and trading. He has held a variety of roles during his time with .......

    Job Swaps 24 March 2011

  • Regulatory overlap

    Need for coordinated reform efforts underlined

    The need for coordinated reform efforts in the ABS market is becoming increasingly apparent as new rules bed down, with the overlap among different regulations seemingly most obvious in the ratings arena. In the meantime, regulatory authorities appear to be taking a more accommodative stance towards new securitisation requirements.

    The overlap - and indeed contradiction - between some of the .......

    News Analysis 24 March 2011

  • REIT promotes four

    Invesco Mortgage Capital has promoted its head of research, Robson Kuster, to the additional position of coo. The REIT's investment management arm Invesco Advisers has also promoted Jason Marshall to md and head of portfolio management, while both David Lyle and Kevin Collins have been named md and head of residential mortgage credit.

    .......

    Job Swaps 23 March 2011

  • Euro RMBS bouncing back

    The European RMBS market appears to be recovering from last week's dip. In particular, market participants have welcomed Northern Rock's announcement of its first post-crisis deal, Gosforth Funding 2011-1.

    "Dealers were not active in the market last week due to the news in Japan. We seemed to have bounced back this week, however," one RMBS trader says. As activity begins .......

    Market Reports 23 March 2011

  • Derivative trading revenues dip

    In its quarterly report on bank trading and derivatives activities, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) indicates that commercial banks reported trading revenues of US$3.5bn in 4Q10. This is 80% higher than in 4Q09, yet still 17% lower than in 3Q10.

    For the full year of 2010, trading revenues totalled US$22.5bn, nearly matching the record US$22.6bn in .......

    News Round-up 23 March 2011

  • US CRE prices slip again

    US commercial real estate prices fell by 1.2% in January, the second consecutive monthly decline, according to Moody's/REAL National All Property Price Index (CPPI). Recent declines have been moderate, however, with prices currently 4.2% above the post-peak low reached in August 2010.

    "Choppiness in the CPPI is starting to subside as the bottoming process that started in 4Q09 continues. However, .......

    News Round-up 23 March 2011

  • Prepayments sneaking up

    Accelerating CLO prepays catch investors unawares

    CLO prepayments are not always obvious for investors to monitor, but they seem to be happening faster than many in the market realised. Although not all bondholders will be equally advantaged by rising prepayments, the trend is only expected to increase over the next few years.

    Justin Pauley, director at RBS, recently looked into the phenomenon. He says: "According to our .......

    News Analysis 23 March 2011

  • RFC issued on CLO rating changes

    Moody's is seeking comment from market participants regarding proposed changes to its modelling framework for cashflow CLOs. The changes have the aggregate effect of changing the credit enhancement levels for a rating category above the levels prior to the financial crisis, but slightly below levels during the crisis, the agency says.

    Additionally, if these changes are implemented, the agency anticipates .......

    News Round-up 23 March 2011

  • LatAm sovereign CDS index launched

    Markit has launched its iTraxx SovX Latin America index to offer investors a transparent and standardised tool to monitor the sovereign CDS market in the region. The index is equally weighted and composed of the most liquid sovereign entities from the Latin American region based on data from the DTCC Trade Information Warehouse.

    The index is currently calculated on a .......

    News Round-up 23 March 2011

  • Credit card charge-offs tick higher

    Charge-offs on US credit cards ticked higher in February to 7.56%, up from 7.45% in January, according to Moody's. Although the charge-off rate is expected to resume its pace of steady declines, it will still break below the 7% mark during the 2Q11, the agency says.

    "Familiar seasonal patterns and the roll-through of elevated delinquencies in September influenced the charge-off .......

    News Round-up 23 March 2011

  • Grubb and Ellis explores merger possibilities

    Grubb & Ellis has engaged JMP Securities to explore strategic alternatives, including the potential sale or merger of the firm. In conjunction with the announcement, the Grubb & Ellis board also determined not to declare the quarterly dividend to holders of its 12% cumulative participating perpetual convertible preferred stock.

    "A formal process to explore a transaction which affords the company .......

    Job Swaps 23 March 2011

  • Advisory firm beefs up in Asia

    StormHarbour has appointed Aaron Tan as senior advisor in its Hong Kong office. Reporting to the firm's principal and Asia-Pacific ceo, Water Cheung, Tan will be involved in advising on and originating real estate transactions. He was previously md and head of Hong Kong coverage, investment banking and debt capital markets at Barclays Capital.

    At the same time, Jean-Christophe Levens, Marc-Antoine .......

    Job Swaps 23 March 2011
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