Complete news archive

  • Vendor sees growth in New York

    Brian Sentence, the founder director and ceo of Xenomorph, has moved to New York to spearhead growth of the firm's sales and support operations. He will join co-founder and consultancy director Mark Woodgate in leading the firm's marketing efforts.

    Meanwhile, Matthew Skinner takes over as Xenomorph md for Europe, with Naj Alavi continuing as md for the Americas.

    .......

    Job Swaps 15 November 2010

  • Retention requirements

    CLO CRD solutions proposed

    A CLO originator SPV structure has been proposed as a solution under Article 122a of the European Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), which comes into effect on 1 January. But some market participants believe that changes to leveraged loan documentation should be made instead.

    The issue for CLOs under Article 122a is that it's unclear which party should retain the risk .......

    News Analysis 12 November 2010

  • Advantage transparency?

    Data demands dividing UK lenders

    Debate is intensifying about how the UK lending industry will meet the Bank of England's proposed requirements for data availability when the extension to the ABS discount window facility is implemented. The suggestion that data is made 'freely available' adds to the challenge, and the form issuer websites will take is taxing all securitising lenders at a time when they .......

    News Analysis 12 November 2010

  • Japan ABS revisited on grey-zone issue

    Moody's is analysing the risk for Japanese securitisations backed by loan receivables involving payments of grey-zone interest, following the start of Takefuji Corporation's corporate reorganisation procedures.

    Takefuji is to redefine the principal amount of its loan receivables based on the maximum interest rate under Japan's Interest Rate Restriction Law. Accordingly, it will require that obligors pay down their loans based .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2010

  • Portuguese downgrades raise counterparty flag

    Fitch says that the recent downgrades of several Portuguese banks will have an impact on two Portuguese RMBS, but is unlikely to affect 12 other RMBS and three Fitch-rated Portuguese SME CLOs. The affected banks are Banco BPI, Banco Espirito Santo, Millenium BCP and Banif.

    At present, Banco BPI and Banco Espirito Santo perform several counterparty roles, including hedging counterparties, .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2010

  • Vendor acquisition announced

    Misys is to acquire Sophis from its principal shareholder Advent International and various management shareholders, for an equity value of approximately €273m. A further €5m may be payable in cash on or shortly after closing, contingent upon performance in the year to December 2010.

    Sophis had net debt of €162m at 30 September 2010, giving an enterprise value for the .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2010

  • Resecuritisation rating approach updated

    S&P is to incorporate its opinion of the interest payment at the applicable rating level, in addition to considering full principal payment in its ratings of resecuritisations.

    For transactions for which the agency has received a request to rate but has not issued a rating, its rating analysis will assess whether the securityholders will receive interest and principal payments consistent .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2010

  • US CMBS loss severities increase

    The current historical weighted average loss severity for all loans backing US CMBS that are liquidated at a loss increased in the third quarter, to 38.4% from 35% the previous quarter, according to Moody's. Excluding loans with de minimus losses, the historical weighted average loss severity increased to 51%, up from 49% a quarter ago.

    Loss severities in the third .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2010

  • Advisory affiliation established

    LECG and NewOak Capital have established an affiliate relationship to provide a broader and deeper scope of services to the financial services industry. The two firms had previously undertaken work together over the past two years, resulting in new client engagements in consulting and litigation matters.

    Chad Burhance, md and head of NewOak Capital's solutions division, says the affiliation will .......

    Job Swaps 12 November 2010

  • Continued stabilisation for global SF ratings

    Fitch reports that the ratio of affirmations to downgrades across its global structured finance ratings in 3Q10 followed a similar trend to 2Q, with affirmations exceeding downgrades by a ratio of more than two to one - although the number of upgrades increased. The trends reflect continuing signs of improved performance across various asset classes, the agency says.

    In line .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2010

  • Ambac regulator's actions challenged

    The RMBS Policyholders Group has issued a statement saying that the bankruptcy filings of Ambac Financial Group (AFG) demonstrate clearly that the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) failed in its statutory duty to protect policyholders of Ambac Assurance Corporation and "actively participated in an arrangement that will divert billions of dollars of tax attributes from the insurance .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2010

  • Second 2010 Res Re on the blocks

    The second series of notes under United Services Automobile Association's Residential Re 2010 catastrophe bond programme have begun marketing. S&P has assigned its preliminary double-B rating to the class 1, series 2010-II notes.

    The agency explains: "This preliminary rating is the same as the final rating we assigned to the company's class 1 series 2010-I notes because both have the .......

    News Round-up 12 November 2010

  • Rise reported in US CMBS delinquency rates

    The delinquency rate on loans included in US CMBS increased by 15bp in October to 8.39%, according to Moody's Delinquency Tracker (DQT). The increase was almost the same as the 14bp increase in September and the fifth consecutive month of modest growth in the rate.

    In October, 282 loans totalling US$3.45bn became newly delinquent, while 211 previously delinquent loans totalling .......

    News Round-up 11 November 2010

  • Electronic execution offered for CDS indices

    Credit Suisse is to provide electronic trading of CDS indices for clients from any Bloomberg terminal. The service will launch with access to European indices initially, followed by US indices.

    Historically, clients had been able to electronically view CDS price levels from a number of dealers, yet it was then necessary to place a phone call or exchange a series .......

    News Round-up 11 November 2010

  • Minimal default rate for Euro ABS

    S&P reports that the cumulative default rate for European securitisations since mid-2007 has been 0.86%. In many asset classes, securities' creditworthiness has remained resilient, in the agency's opinion, meaning downgrade rates have also been low. Significantly, the 12-month rolling downgrade rate fell slightly to about 13% from its peak last quarter.

    A significant proportion of principal balances outstanding before the .......

    News Round-up 11 November 2010

  • Analytics vendor expands to China

    Numerix has expanded its sales force again with a new office in Beijing, which will provide clients with Chinese OTC derivatives support. The office will be managed by Sindy Zhu, director of sales, who is responsible for the region. Zhu reports to Stephen Cheng, Numerix vp, sales, for Greater China.

    .......

    Job Swaps 11 November 2010

  • US subprime prices hold steady

    Fitch reports that US subprime prices held steady for the fourth month in a row, with two underperforming vintages showing signs of a rebound. While the agency's US Subprime RMBS Total Market Price Index stood at 9.82 at the end of October, a closer look reveals that the recent 2006 and 2007 vintages have evened out, following significant price declines .......

    News Round-up 11 November 2010

  • CRE vet joins asset manager

    Cole Real Estate Investments has appointed Eric Costa as director in its asset management and dispositions group. He will be responsible for increasing the firm's profitability and operating efficiency in its real estate portfolio. Prior to joining the firm, Costa was evp and principal with Aspen Properties, asset managing a portfolio of commercial properties totalling over 1.5m square feet.

    .......

    Job Swaps 11 November 2010

  • Mezz appeal emerges in Euro CLOs

    A spike in secondary mezzanine and equity flows is driving interest in the European CLO market this week. As prices continue to tighten, traders report a strengthening across the capital structure.

    "The market has been fairly strong this week, with good flows," one CLO trader confirms.

    There has been significant interest in mezzanine and equity tranches, the trader says, particularly .......

    Market Reports 11 November 2010

  • Credit trading head named

    Credit Suisse has appointed Jonathan Fletcher as director and head of its investment grade corporate credit trading desk. Based in London, he will oversee the firm's activity in both cash and synthetic credits. He was previously a credit trader at Deutsche Bank.

    .......

    Job Swaps 10 November 2010

  • Master trusts' ability to pay examined

    In the absence of sponsor support, CPR speeds have a significant bearing on the ability of RMBS master trusts to repay bonds on their scheduled maturities. European ABS analysts at Deutsche Bank suggest that certain UK trusts - such as Holmes, Lanark, Silverstone and Gracechurch - will likely generate ample principal receipts to ensure timely bond repayment. However, based on .......

    News 10 November 2010
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