CLOs
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Rating agency increases reach
Scope Corporation is set to acquire FERI EuroRating Services, effective from the start of August. The firm intends to establish itself as the European alternative to the US rating agencies.
Scope Group intends to spread its business across three areas under Scope Corporation. Scope Ratings will be responsible for all credit rating activities; Scope Analysis will be in charge of .......
Job Swaps 30 June 2016
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US CLOs rebounding
The US CLO secondary market has begun rebounding in the past few sessions after the caution seen immediately following the UK referendum result.
"The vote brought with it a lot of unknowns obviously, but we have seen some good volume over the last couple of days," says one trader. "Double-Bs had a couple of good names in for the bid .......
SCIWire 30 June 2016
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Settlement reinvestment options weighed
Current holders of non-agency RMBS from 512 Countrywide deals have finally received almost US$8bn in cash payments, five years after the original settlement (SCI passim). As investors look to put the cash back to work, Morgan Stanley analysts believe other securitised products would make a natural destination for reinvestment.
The Countrywide settlement covers breaches of certain representations and warranties as .......
News 29 June 2016
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US CLOs silenced
The US CLO secondary market has been largely silent in the immediate aftermath of the UK's vote to the leave the EU.
"The issue was that a lot of people came into their desks on Friday morning with little information", says one trader. "The UK's decision to leave is an unprecedented move, so the market was left in unchartered territory .......
SCIWire 28 June 2016
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SF upgrades keep momentum
The global structured finance upgrade rate reached a record high in 2015, according to S&P. Although the downgrade rate was still higher at 11.2% last year, the upgrade rate increased to an all-time high of 9.8% in 2015 and a jump from 8.4% in 2014.
Downgrades were up from 10% in 2014, but still presented a slow-down in growth for all but .......
News Round-up 28 June 2016
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Euro secondary sidelined
Most participants are waiting on the sidelines in the European securitisation secondary market amid broad market volatility.
Two sessions on from the Brexit vote and liquidity remains thin across the board, but there is yet to be any sign of the tailspin seen in wider markets. Dealers in every sector widened their bids on Friday but other than some opportunistic .......
SCIWire 28 June 2016
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CLO trading head hired
Nirjhar Jain is set to join Guggenheim Securities' structured products group as an md, based in New York. He will serve as head of CLO trading, reporting to structured products co-heads Scott Levy and Eric Voelker.
Jain moves from TIG Securitized Asset Fund, where he was the senior portfolio manager focusing on CLOs. Previously, he served as managing partner at .......
Job Swaps 27 June 2016
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Agency recruits trio
Morningstar Credit Ratings has made a trio of new hires in New York, including Lea Overby as md, leading structured finance research. This position is a newly created role for the agency, which will see Overby head up structured finance initiatives and support its analytical team in MBS, ABS and CLOs.
Prior to moving, her most recent role was as executive .......
Job Swaps 24 June 2016
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Anchor investment proposed
The IFC has disclosed that it is considering becoming an anchor investor in United Asia Loan Funding, the Asia-Pacific CLO co-managed by UOB Asset Management and SC Lowy Asset Management (SCI 2 March). The transaction will securitise primarily Asian emerging market loans that were originated by both global and regional banks.
United Asia Loan Funding is expected to be sized .......
News Round-up 23 June 2016
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Marathon bolstered
Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings Fund has acquired a passive, minority interest in Marathon Asset Management. Concurrent with this transaction, Marathon partner and coo Andrew Rabinowitz has been elevated to president and coo.
Additionally, Marathon senior md Vijay Srinivasan has assumed responsibility for overseeing global credit research. This position was formerly held by Richard Ronzetti, who has announced his retirement.
Marathon .......
Job Swaps 23 June 2016
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Euro secondary settles down
After a flurry of activity over the past two sessions the European securitisation secondary market has settled down today to await news from the UK EU referendum.
Following a quiet Monday volumes picked over the next two days sparked by the increase in BWIC activity noted on Tuesday and continuing improvement in wider markets. Flows were relatively healthy yesterday too .......
SCIWire 23 June 2016
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US CLOs cautious
The US CLO secondary market is in cautious mood ahead of the UK EU referendum.
"There's been a number of investors pulling out or showing some hesitancy until they see the decision of the vote," says one trader. "Things should pick up a little bit afterwards though."
The market is also still experiencing tiering, the trader adds. "There's a more .......
SCIWire 21 June 2016
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Strategic initiatives fund launched
DFG Investment Advisers has completed a US$100m first closing for a fund that will enable it to pursue strategic initiatives. The move follows the completion of its fourth CLO transaction - the US$406m Vibrant CLO IV - via Goldman Sachs (see SCI's new issue database).
Volkan Kurtas, DFG's founder, comments: "The CLO management landscape is undergoing a sea .......
News Round-up 21 June 2016
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Euro secondary solid
The European securitisation secondary market remains solid ahead of Thursday's UK EU referendum.
Thanks to negligible activity due to the Barcelona conference all sectors were insulated against wider market volatility driven by Brexit fears last week. Improving broader sentiment on Friday and yesterday has left ABS/MBS secondary spreads largely unchanged on the previous week albeit on the back of very .......
SCIWire 21 June 2016
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US CLOs solid
Activity in the US CLO secondary market is maintaining a solid pace in the latter half of this week.
"Equity remains the hot choice for investors," says one trader. "It's still the area where you get the most bang for your buck."
Nevertheless, the trader notes a number of lists are offering bonds at the top of the stack today. .......
SCIWire 9 June 2016
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Risky retail
US retail exposure driving CLO differentiation
US CLO exposure to retail names has come under closer scrutiny in the last couple of months as store closures and the shift to online shopping weigh on the industry. Against this backdrop, the success of specialty brands is driving differentiation across the sector.
The median retail exposure across the US CLO 2.0 space currently stands at 7.8%, according to .......
News Analysis 9 June 2016
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Euro secondary stable
The European securitisation secondary market continues to show stability.
Secondary spreads across the board are flat to slightly tighter this week as the vast majority of securitisation sectors remain insulated from headline volatility surrounding Brexit and US rates. CLOs continue to lead the way in terms of demand across the capital structure, while ABS/MBS is seeing more two-way flows.
However, overall .......
SCIWire 9 June 2016
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Euro secondary liquidity 'healthy'
Around 80% of European ABS BWICs have successfully traded over the last year, a sign that liquidity in the market remains healthy, according to TwentyFour Asset Management. The asset manager notes that €9.9bn worth of bonds has hit the BWIC market since June 2015, with an additional €5bn when European CLO bonds are included.
TwentyFour says that misconceptions about the liquidity of .......
News 8 June 2016
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Fund misuse settlement agreed
A UK-based investment adviser and its cio have agreed to settle US SEC charges that they breached their fiduciary duties by operating two private funds in a manner inconsistent with prior disclosures. James Caird Asset Management (JCAM) and Timothy Leslie will pay more than US$2.5m to settle the charges.
JCAM and Leslie told the board and investors of the JCAM .......
Job Swaps 8 June 2016
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Negative trade date usage surveyed
European CLO managers have increased their use of negative trade date principal cash balances to minimise the impact of negative interest rates, according to a recent Fitch survey. Managers mostly rely on announced repayments as the main source of prospective funding for committed trades in excess of the available trade date principal cash balance. Only a few managers occasionally rely .......
News Round-up 8 June 2016
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US CLOs take a breather
The US CLO secondary market is taking breather so far this week after last week's pick-up in activity.
"It was a nice end on the new issue side last week with over US$1.6bn in new deals, but both the primary and secondary markets seem for the most part to be waiting for the interest rate announcement now," says one trader. .......
SCIWire 7 June 2016