ABS

  • Card delinquencies drop

    US credit card defaults dropped to their lowest levels since early-2008, while delinquencies fell to levels not seen in close to four years, according to the latest Credit Card Performance Index results from Fitch.

    "Credit card collateral saw positive across-the-board gains for the fourth time in six months," says Fitch senior director Cynthia Ullrich. "Future credit card performance looks promising, .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2011

  • FFELP residual interest acquired

    Nelnet has purchased the residual interest in US$1.9bn of FFELP consolidation loans from an affiliate of Greystone & Co. The firm acquired the ownership interest in GCO SLIMS Trust-1, giving it rights to the residual interest in GCO Education Loan Funding Trust-I.

    As part of the agreement, Nelnet will become master servicer and administrator for Trust-I and administrator for the .......

    News Round-up 12 July 2011

  • Distressed credit manager formed

    Group OFI has established a new AMF-regulated subsidiary, called ZENCAP Asset Management, which is dedicated to distressed credit. The firm comprises a team of four portfolio managers and takes over the management of two dedicated distressed credit funds and one advisory mandate for a French institutional investor. Assets under management and advisory total €300m.

    According to Richard Jacquet, ceo of .......

    Job Swaps 12 July 2011

  • Real estate expertise bolstered

    Arnaud de Pesquidoux is joining Group Tikehau as general counsel and partner. He was previously a partner at Gide Loyrette Nouel, where he focused on investment advisory as well as real estate financing activity for institutional and private clients. He has been regularly involved in pre-litigation and litigation issues.

    De Pesquidoux's arrival is in line with Tikehau's commitment to strengthen .......

    Job Swaps 12 July 2011

  • Multi-seller conduit overviews published

    Moody's is to begin publishing performance overviews for US bank-sponsored multi-seller ABCP conduits, which will provide a periodic update on asset pool composition, performance and historical commercial paper outstanding. The new US performance overviews will have three sections: highlights, rating opinion and discussion points.

    The highlights section focuses on any significant programme changes with respect to conduit structure, asset or .......

    News Round-up 11 July 2011

  • Asset manager preps new offerings

    Tikehau IM is preparing three new funds with expected first closings by year-end. They are: Tikehau Special Situations II; TMZ II, the firm's second mezzanine debt fund; and Tikehau Green Real Estate Fund, which is intended to be invested into sustainable commercial real estate.

    The group aims to exceed €1bn of assets under management in 2012. As of end-June, it .......

    Job Swaps 11 July 2011

  • Monoline files plan of reorganisation

    Ambac Financial has filed a plan of reorganisation in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company will continue to operate in the ordinary course of business as debtor-in-possession under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and the orders of the Bankruptcy Court. Ambac .......

    Job Swaps 8 July 2011

  • North American trading desk minted

    FG Solutions International has expanded its service offering for ABS products to investors and traders in North America. The firm's new ABS trading desk will utilise a proprietary electronic trading platform for real-time online price allocation to its North American clients as an additional service to its existing brokerage trading platform.

    The new electronic trading system is expected to appreciably .......

    Job Swaps 7 July 2011

  • Punch split confirmed

    Punch has announced its formal intention to split the business in two via the creation of a new listed entity called Spirit Pub Company, which will consist of the existing Spirit securitisation as well as a number of managed pubs outside the deal. The demerger remains conditional upon a shareholder vote and is expected to become effective on 1 August.

    News Round-up 7 July 2011

  • SIVs hit in Landesbank review

    Moody's has placed under review for downgrade the ratings of notes issued by the Carrera Capital and Harrier Finance Funding SIVs. The ratings of the latter are also under review with direction uncertain. The actions follow the agency's review of German Landesbanken ratings.

    Carrera Capital is managed and sponsored by HSH Nordbank. There is a direct linkage between the ratings .......

    News Round-up 6 July 2011

  • Broker beefs up in ABS

    Laeken International says it plans to establish a structured finance strategy and analytics team. The firm is eyeing James Woodrow to lead the team, with Marius Grant, Glenn Morris and Shannon Kelly completing it. The team will provide the fixed income sales and trading department with analysis and support, focusing especially on mortgage- and other asset-backed securities products.

    .......

    Job Swaps 6 July 2011

  • US auto ABS remains strong

    Credit fundamentals for US auto ABS remain strong in spite of recent economic headwinds, according to Fitch. But the agency warns that performance may soon begin to level off.

    Auto ABS losses declined to near record levels in May, while delinquencies remained relatively stable. However, performance gains for the year may be approaching a peak, according to Fitch director Brian .......

    News Round-up 5 July 2011

  • Tobacco settlement bond closed

    Grant Thornton's public finance practice has been selected by the Tobacco Settlement Financing Corp of the State of New York (TSFC) to serve as the structuring and refunding verification agent on its US$959.1m bond offering that will be used to refinance existing debt. The firm says it was selected by the TSFC for its specialised expertise in serving as the .......

    News Round-up 30 June 2011

  • Raymond James settles ARS charges

    The US SEC has charged Raymond James & Associates and Raymond James Financial Services for making inaccurate statements when selling auction rate securities (ARS) to customers. Raymond James agreed to settle the SEC's charges and provide its customers the opportunity to sell back to the firm any ARS that they bought prior to the collapse of the ARS market in .......

    Job Swaps 30 June 2011

  • Counterparty criteria updated

    S&P has updated its criteria for counterparty and supporting obligations by providing a framework for classifying currencies and determining the volatility buffers for derivative obligations. The updated criteria apply to all new and existing structured finance securities, certain US public finance securities and to financial counterparties in corporate and government issues possessing structured finance characteristics.

    The criteria provide a framework .......

    News Round-up 29 June 2011

  • ABS-focused fund launched

    Angel Oak Capital Advisors has launched the Angel Oak Multi Strategy Income Fund, which seeks to achieve high current income while providing less interest rate sensitivity than traditional fixed income products. The fund is managed by an Angel Oak team headed by portfolio managers Brad Friedlander and Ashish Negandhi.

    "Our strategy initially is to focus on the asset-backed securities market. .......

    News Round-up 29 June 2011

  • Capital injection for StormHarbour Japan

    Asuka DBJ Partners, a private investment firm that is a joint venture between Development Bank of Japan and Asuka Asset Management, has acquired an 8% equity stake in StormHarbour Japan. Asuka DBJ Partners invests in companies and projects in growth sectors in Japan, China and other parts of Asia.

    "We are delighted and honoured that Asuka DBJ Partners has made .......

    Job Swaps 28 June 2011

  • Law firm expands litigation group

    Bingham has expanded its securities and financial institutions litigation group in London with the addition of Mark Dawkins, a former managing partner of Simmons & Simmons. While at Simmons & Simmons, he was instrumental in building and leading the firm's global financial markets department and its banking litigation department. Dawkins will work closely with Bingham financial institutions litigation partner Natasha .......

    News Round-up 28 June 2011

  • Credit trading head named

    BNP Paribas has promoted Benjamin Jacquard to global head of credit trading. He will be based in London, reporting to Guillaume Amblard, global head of fixed income trading.

    Jacquard will lead the implementation of BNP Paribas's credit development plan, which is to extend the product range and market share in all credit markets, including ABS trading and structured credit. He .......

    Job Swaps 28 June 2011

  • ABCP op risk RFC issued

    Moody's has issued a request for comment regarding a proposed update to its operational risk guidelines as they relate to rating ABCP programmes. Specifically, the agency proposes explicit guidelines for the analysis of performance disruption risk posed to ABCP programmes by their administrators.

    The ABCP operational risk guidelines address the risk of non-performance by transaction parties on Prime-1 rated ABCP. .......

    News Round-up 28 June 2011

  • Positive trend continues for cards

    Moody's reports that both US credit card charge-off and delinquency rates improved yet again in May, continuing the positive trend of much of the past year. At the same time, the payment rate index - complementing the near record low levels of delinquent credit card receivables - rebounded sharply in May and is once again near its all-time high.

    "These .......

    News Round-up 27 June 2011
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