Complete news archive

  • SEF beefs up leadership team

    Javelin Capital Markets has appointed Mike Hisler and Chris Koppenheffer as its CDS and interest rate swaps heads respectively.

    Hisler most recently launched the boutique investment bank, Hexagon. Prior to this, he was md of institutional credit sales at UBS, where he focused on management and sales of corporate credit and structured products.

    Koppenheffer was most recently at Mizuho Capital .......

    Job Swaps 23 February 2011

  • Charge-offs set for accelerated improvement in Q2

    Moody's US credit card charge-off rate index is expected to drop below 7% in the second quarter, falling by approximately 17% from its 4Q10 level of 8.5%. The agency notes in its latest Credit Card Statement publication that although the index is likely to rise in February and March from January's projected 7.5%, improvement in losses should accelerate in the .......

    News 22 February 2011

  • Subprime CDS rally continues

    The latest Fitch Solutions index results indicate that US subprime CDS prices have increased for the third consecutive month. The current index level of 11.37 is the highest since October 2008 and the agency notes that market conditions remain supportive of further price increases.

    The index increased by 5.2% last month, having increased 7.2% the month before. Both the 2004 .......

    News Round-up 22 February 2011

  • Bond extension expected for Opera Uni-Invest

    A bond maturity extension is expected to feature in a restructuring proposal for Opera Finance (Uni-Invest), if it defaults on its standstill agreement. This would be the fourth maturity extension in European CMBS and a closely watched one, according to CMBS analysts at Barclays Capital, given that it would be the first to be triggered by a pending bond maturity .......

    News 22 February 2011

  • CMBS restructured on REIT conversion

    The Imser Securitisation 2, an Italian single-loan CMBS backed by 197 specialised telecom properties, has been restructured upon an application by the borrower and its majority shareholder for the special tax regime existing for REITs in Italy. This follows changes to corporate taxation in the country, under which an additional tax exposure has arisen for the borrower - Imser 60 .......

    News Round-up 22 February 2011

  • Straps touted for widening market

    Structured credit strategists at Citi outline in a recent client note their concern with the increasingly bullish consensus that European leaders are on the point of solving the region's sovereign and financial debt problems - despite apparent disagreements on key elements of any resolution. They suggest that by selling options investors can reduce exposure to any tightening while delivering superior .......

    News 22 February 2011

  • Credit trading head hired

    RBC Capital Markets has hired Ian Pearce as head of European credit trading. He joins the team in London from UBS, where he was most recently co-head of sterling credit and European ABS. Pearce will report to John Greenslade, head of fixed income and currencies for Europe.

    Harry Samuel, global co-head of fixed income and currencies, comments: "Ian is a .......

    Job Swaps 22 February 2011

  • Up for discussion

    Overhaul underway for European CMBS

    Efforts are underway to improve European CMBS structures and documentation. While some progress has been made ahead of the launch of new deals slated for Q2 (see SCI 17 February), other areas remain up for discussion.

    Certainly, new European CMBS transactions are likely to have simpler structures than in the past, according to Paul Hastings partner Charles Roberts. "The market .......

    News Analysis 21 February 2011

  • Advisory firm adds structured credit pro

    TradeRisks has appointed Jon Slater as joint chief executive. He joins from JPMorgan, where he was global head of structured credit trading.

    Slater and Alex Pilato, the founder and existing chief executive of TradeRisks, previously worked together at JPMorgan from 1989 and also at Tokai Bank Europe from 1997. Slater subsequently re-joined JPMorgan in 2000, where he has spent the .......

    Job Swaps 21 February 2011

  • Swaps conduct standards 'go too far'

    SIFMA is concerned about a proposed rule on conduct standards for swap dealers and major swap participants. In a comment letter to the CFTC, the association says it is worried about various aspects of the proposal - including unintended consequences for swap dealer customers - and suggests that there are instances of the CFTC going beyond the mandates of the .......

    News Round-up 21 February 2011

  • Key hires for credit hedge fund

    Candlewood Investment Group - which focuses on distressed debt, special situations and structured credit - has hired Al De Leo as head of trading and Gurdev Dillon as cfo. De Leo joins from Marathon Asset Management, where he was a portfolio manager, while Dillon comes from Archer Capital Management, where he was also cfo.

    Michael Lau, Candlewood ceo, says: "We .......

    Job Swaps 21 February 2011

  • REC 6 restructuring mulled

    Three restructuring plans have been proposed for the REC 6 (Alburn) CMBS, following a failed tender for the notes (SCI passim). Strategists at Chalkhill Partners suggest that the first option is likely to be unattractive to senior noteholders, while more work is required to flesh out the strategy and eventual value recovery to enable a decision to be made between .......

    News 21 February 2011

  • Index ire

    Markit's latest index proposal sits badly with investors

    Investors are deeply sceptical about a planned synthetic CDS index referencing UK non-conforming RMBS. The index - presently dubbed NCRMBX - is being prepared by Markit for launch later this year, but there is serious concern that such an index would be detrimental to the market.

    NCRMBX is not the only index that Markit is working on, however. The firm .......

    News Analysis 21 February 2011

  • Sequoia prices with stronger structure

    Redwood Trust has priced Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2011-1 - the first US non-agency RMBS of the year - via Credit Suisse, Jefferies and JPMorgan. The US$270m triple-A rated (by Fitch) class A-1 notes priced at 4.125%. The offering is expected to close on 1 March.

    The deal is backed by a US$296m pool of 303 prime mortgages consisting of 43% .......

    News Round-up 18 February 2011

  • Euro ABS slows down

    It has been a quiet week for the European ABS market, with bid-lists the only source of activity. A leg-down in Granite triple-B levels proved to be the highlight.

    "It's been a fairly quiet week overall; much quieter than usual," one ABS trader says. The most significant movement this week was the price shift in Granite triple-B paper, he adds, .......

    Market Reports 18 February 2011

  • Decrease seen in delinquent unpaid balance

    The US CMBS delinquent unpaid balance decreased slightly last month by US$229.8m - down to US$62.09bn - from the previous month, according to Realpoint's latest Monthly Delinquency Report. This 0.4% decrease follows increases of US$1.21bn and US$1.93bn respectively in December and November.

    This is only the second time in the past 12 months that the delinquent unpaid balance decreased, following .......

    News Round-up 18 February 2011

  • OTC electronic trading recommendations released

    The IOSCO Technical Committee has published a report analysing the benefits, costs and challenges associated with increasing exchange and electronic trading of OTC derivative products. The report also contains recommendations to assist the transition of trading in standardised derivatives products, while preserving the efficacy of those transactions for counterparties.

    The report was prepared by the Technical Committee's task force on .......

    News Round-up 18 February 2011

  • US CMBS loss severities moderating?

    The current historical weighted average loss severity for loans backing US CMBS that are liquidated at a loss increased in the last quarter of 2010, albeit at a slower rate than the prior quarter, says Moody's.

    The average loss severity stood at 39.6% in December, up from 38.4% in September and 35.4% in June of 2010. Excluding loans with de .......

    News Round-up 18 February 2011

  • Restructuring proposed for Sentry MBS fund

    Sentry Select Capital is proposing to restructure the Sentry Select MBS Adjustable Rate Income Fund II to allow it to be administered as an open-end mutual fund - including daily liquidity at the net asset value per unit. If the fund is restructured, the structure of the management fees paid by the fund to the manager would also be changed; .......

    News Round-up 18 February 2011

  • Moody's warns on Redwood earthquake risk

    Investors in the new Redwood Trust RMBS should consider the risk posed by the underlying concentration of earthquake-vulnerable properties, warns Moody's.

    "Based on preliminary information on the Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2011-1 transaction, we believe that the pool is more exposed to earthquake risk than most RMBS pools, given that 56% of the loans by principal balance are in California and .......

    News Round-up 18 February 2011

  • CRE firm adds svp

    Broad Street has appointed Tim McCann as svp of its acquisitions and capital markets group. In this role, he will work closely with Broad Street principals Tom Yockey, Mike Jacoby and Jeff Kelly on sourcing new acquisitions and building the firm's debt and equity relationships. Prior to joining Broad Street, McCann held both credit and underwriting positions with several leading .......

    Job Swaps 17 February 2011
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