RMBS
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MBS overvaluation case settled
Sector developments and company hires
Overvaluation case settled
Market Moves 1 May 2020
The US SEC has accepted an offer of settlement from Semper Capital Management in connection with administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings against it. On the basis of the offer, the Commission finds that from July 2013 through May 2014, Semper overvalued certain odd lot positions in securities held by the Semper MBS Total Return Fund (SEMMX), which caused .......
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Targeted action
Wholesale ratings downgrades questioned
The raft of negative rating actions currently hitting the securitisation market is perceived to be driven by the stress created by coronavirus containment efforts. To the extent that some credit ratings were heading for a downgrade before the pandemic, this stress may simply be hastening rating actions. However, there are some who question whether wholesale downgrades are helpful in the .......
News Analysis 1 May 2020
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Performance pressures
Irish mortgage loan restructurings anticipated
Deteriorating collateral values and higher defaults are expected to impair the performance of Irish re-performing RMBS, even if cash reserves are adequate to cover liquidity shortfalls related to Covid-19 payment holidays. Indeed, Scope Ratings expects an increase in mortgage defaults to drive another wave of loan restructurings, which will – in turn - increase recovery timings.
The top .......
News 30 April 2020
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Home sales plunge
Over 20% drop in March homes sales bodes ill for MBS
The US March pending home sales report plunged 20.8% compared to February and 16.3% lower than a year ago, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported today, showing the calamitous effect of Covid 19 upon the housing market. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for March is at 88.2, compared to 111.5 in February.
Analysts had predicted a .......
News 30 April 2020
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Prudential flexibility reiterated
Sector developments and company hires
Prudential flexibility reiterated
Market Moves 29 April 2020
The European Commission has adopted a package to help facilitate bank lending to households and businesses throughout the European Union that includes an Interpretative Communication on the EU's accounting and prudential frameworks, as well as targeted ‘quick fix’ amendments to the CRR, in order to maximise the ability of banks to lend and absorb losses related to .......
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PEFF funds allocated
Sector developments and company hires
PEFF funds allocated
Market Moves 28 April 2020
The steering body of the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEFF) has allocated US$195.84m to 64 of the world’s poorest countries with reported cases of Covid-19 to fund critical lifesaving medical equipment and support for health workers on the frontlines of the crisis. The allocation represents the amount received when the PEFF insurance window triggered for .......
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Securitisation support
AOFM initiatives to boost volumes
The Australian Office of Financial Management has acted quickly to support the Australian securitisation market amid the coronavirus fallout. Indeed, a boost to both primary and secondary ABS volumes is expected as a result of its A$15bn Structured Finance Support Fund (SFSF) initiative (SCI 30 March) and the proposed Forbearance SPV respectively.
Martin Jacques, director, head of .......
News Analysis 28 April 2020
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European SME ABS struggling
Sector developments and company hires
European SME ABS struggling
Coronavirus-driven disruption is creating financial difficulties for European SMEs that heavily rely on securitisations for funding. Consequently, the crisis and subsequent recession will challenge the asset quality of SME ABS, according to a new report from Moody’s.“There is a widespread lack of financial strength and fewer financing options among SMEs, relative to large corporate .......
Market Moves 27 April 2020
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Inventory ABS prepped
Sector developments and company hires
Inventory ABS prepped
Market Moves 24 April 2020
Fintech platform Supply@ME Capital (SYME) has entered into an agreement with StormHarbour Securities for the issue, distribution and placing of a series of ABS that are guaranteed against inventories purchased directly by the platform's SPVs (SCI 15 April). Details of the securitisation programme are being finalised, but it is anticipated to cover - within 12 months .......
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Non-agency CMBS goes it alone
The non-agency CMBS market is an orphan of the storm
While a raft of measures to aid liquidity and forestall insolvency have been introduced by the US authorities to asset-backed markets in recent weeks, the non-agency CMBS sector remains outside the umbrella, leading to fears it faces huge losses.
GSE-backed CMBS are considered eligible as collateral under the terms of TALF 2.0, while in the private label sector .......
News Analysis 24 April 2020
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Grandfathering for Dutch CLO issuers
Sector developments and company hires
Grandfathering for Dutch CLO issuers
Market Moves 23 April 2020
The Dutch tax authorities have provided written confirmation to CLO issuers domiciled in the Netherlands that their recently revised position on the VAT exemption (SCI 10 March) will not apply with retroactive effect. Further, the VAT exemption will continue to apply to transactions for a grandfathering period until 1 January 2021. Issuers are continuing a .......
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GSE advancing obligations aligned
Sector developments and company hires
GSE advancing obligations aligned
Market Moves 22 April 2020
The US FHFA has aligned Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's policies regarding servicer obligations to advance scheduled monthly principal and interest payments for single-family mortgage loans. Once a servicer has advanced four months of missed payments on a loan, it will have no further obligation to advance scheduled payments. When a mortgage loan is in an .......
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Extension risk
Willingness and ability to call weighed
The Covid-19 fall-out appears to have impacted both the willingness and the ability of some UK issuers to exercise call options, since the public primary securitisation market has contracted and funding sources - especially for non-bank lenders - have become scarce (SCI 17 March). Nevertheless, TFSME-eligible issuers are more likely to call their outstanding transactions, given their ability .......
News 22 April 2020
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Pressured profitability
Building societies sensitive to lockdown
UK residential mortgage originations have decreased significantly due to the current social distancing measures. However, the profitability of building societies depends on their ability to grow their loan books, says KBRA.
Valuations are a significant step in the process of originating and underwriting new mortgage loans. However, property visits are not taking place at the moment.
Joanna .......
News 21 April 2020
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Interest rate mismatches eyed
Sector developments and company hires
Interest rate mismatches eyed
Market Moves 17 April 2020
Moody’s suggests that loan repricing will increase interest rate mismatches for Chinese structured finance deals, posing a higher risk for RMBS than auto ABS, given the longer loan terms and the greater share of floating-rate loans. All Chinese financial institutions must reprice outstanding floating-rate loans to either loan prime rate (LPR)-indexed floating rates or fixed rates .......
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Forbearance risks
Pre-2015 GSE deals could suffer losses
As the coronavirus spreads and servicers offer mortgage forbearance plans to struggling obligors, certain pre-2015 credit risk transfer (CRT) fixed severity deals are set to sustain losses without action from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In contrast, actual loss CRT deals do not automatically suffer losses from credit events, but are exposed to risks from rate reductions, permanent principal .......
News 17 April 2020
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CMBS secured, unsecured sub debt weighed
Sector developments and company hires
CMBS secured, unsecured sub debt weighed
Market Moves 16 April 2020
Senior US CMBS loans with unsecured subordinate debt (such as mezzanine or preferred equity) show significantly lower default rates than senior loans with secured subordinate debt (such as B-notes) at comparable leverage points, according to Fitch. The agency evaluated the performance of 1,001 senior CMBS conduit loans with subordinate debt in place, issued between 2003 .......
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Auto ABS rating withdrawn
Sector developments and company hires
Auto ABS rating withdrawn
Fitch has withdrawn the expected ratings of Swiss Car ABS 2020-1 (SCI 9 April). The rating agency notes that the debt issue is “no longer expected to proceed as previously envisaged”.EMEA
Market Moves 15 April 2020
Reed Smith has appointed Baptiste Gelpi as a partner in its financial industry group, based in Paris. Gelpi joins the firm from Hogan .......
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Price volatility
Liquidity constraints hit credit risk transfer
Acute losses have been suffered in the US credit risk transfer market over the last few weeks, as prices on many classes of bonds have executed a vertiginous descent. But the price action does not tell the whole story, and it is too early to say that investors will be cleaned out.
Covid-19 and the virtual cessation of .......
News Analysis 15 April 2020
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REMIC tax status clarified
Sector developments and company hires
REMIC revenue procedure
Market Moves 14 April 2020
The US Internal Revenue Service has issued a revenue procedure that permits loans subject to certain forbearances and related modifications as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic to be contributed to, and held in, REMICs and grantor trusts without jeopardising the tax status of these vehicles. Cadwalader notes that under the revenue procedure: a mortgage loan’s LTV does .......
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TALF 2.0 eligibility expanded
Sector developments and company hires
TALF 2.0 eligibility expanded
Market Moves 9 April 2020
The US Fed has expanded the range of assets that are eligible collateral for TALF 2.0 to include the triple-A rated tranches of both legacy conduit CMBS and newly issued static CLOs. The size of the facility will remain US$100bn and it will continue to support the issuance of ABS that fund a wide range of .......